More drilling results pending from Malampaya

INITIAL RESULTS from two Malampaya gas drilling programs are expected within the quarter, the Department of Energy (DoE) said in a statement on Tuesday.

It said the results are expected from two active drilling sites, the Camago-3 and Bagong Pagasa-1 wells.

A major natural gas discovery was announced this week for Malampaya East-1. The discovery lies about five kilometers east of the existing Malampaya gas resource off Palawan province.

The new discovery is equivalent to roughly 14 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, enough to power about 5.7 million households, 9,500 buildings or about 200,000 schools per year.

Malampaya East-1 is the first completed well of the Malampaya Phase 4 Drilling Campaign, which also includes Camago-2 and Bagong Pag-asa 1.

“Driven by the President’s marching orders for energy security, this discovery was delivered in record time. This will be marked in history as the first 100% Filipino-led indigenous gas venture,” Energy Secretary Sharon S. Garin said.

In 2023, the Malampaya consortium — composed of Prime Energy Resources Development B.V., UC38 LLC, Prime Oil & Gas, Inc., and state-owned PNOC Exploration Corp. — secured a 15-year renewal of Service Contract No. 38, paving the way for the exploration and development of additional gas reserves until 2039.

Drilling the new wells at the Malampaya field started last year in hopes of producing new gas by 2026.

To ensure continuity of the country’s indigenous energy supply, the government awarded nine major service contracts to explore high-potential sites in the West Philippine Sea and the Sulu Sea, as well as to continue production at the Galoc field.

The government is also banking on hydrogen exploration with two service contracts awarded.

The DoE said it obtained funding for the Philippine Gradiometry and Seismic Survey Project, a nationwide geological initiative that will generate critical data for future bidding rounds. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera