PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. announced on Monday the discovery of a new natural gas reservoir in the Malampaya Field, which is expected to boost the country’s gas supply in the coming years.
In a video message, Marcos said that the reservoir, called Malampaya East 1 or MAE-1, is located approximately five kilometers east of the current Malampaya Field offshore of Palawan. It is estimated to contain approximately 98 billion cubic feet of gas.
“This is equivalent to almost fourteen billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. This means it can supply electricity to over 5.7 million households, nine thousand five hundred buildings, or nearly two hundred thousand schools for a year,” Marcos said.
Marcos stated that based on initial analysis, the well flowed at 60 million cubic feet per day, indicating potentially higher production and productivity compared to the original Malampaya wells. He added that the discovery includes condensate, a high-value liquid fuel, which will help support the stabilization of the country’s power supply.
Marcos noted that Filipinos led the drilling operations, and no adverse incidents were reported during the process. He also said that MAE-1 is the first milestone under the Malampaya Phase 4 drilling campaign, which also includes the Camago-2 and Bagong Pag-asa wells. The next step is to complete and evaluate Camago-3, followed by drilling the Pag-asa Exploration well to search for additional potential gas resources.
The discovery was made through the SC-38 Consortium led by Prime Energy, along with UC-38, PNOC Exploration Corporation, and Prime Oil and Gas Incorporated. “This proves that with responsible environmental stewardship and strong cooperation between the government and the private sector, we can achieve a more reliable energy supply for every Filipino,” Marcos said.
