Philippines: Natural gas discovered in Malampaya East-1

Manila: In a significant boost to the nation's energy security, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced on Monday the discovery of natural gas at Malampaya East-1 (MAE-1), located 6km east of the existing Malampaya field off Palawan, local media reported.

This marks the Philippines' first major find in over a decade.

The well has an estimated 98 billion cubic feet of gas — enough to generate 14 billion kilowatt-hours annually, powering 5.7 million households or 200,000 schools.

The discovery, part of a $893 million drilling campaign by Enrique Razon's Prime Energy, follows initial tests showing flows of 60 million cubic feet per day.

It extends the life of the depleting Malampaya field, which supplies 35-40% of Luzon's power, aiding the shift from coal imports.

The site lies in the West Philippine Sea.

This breakthrough promises economic gains.

“We are proud that Filipinos led this drilling operation. Most importantly, they completed it without any accidents or environmental incidents,” Marcos said.

MAE-1 marks the first milestone of the Malampaya Phase 4 drilling campaign, which also includes the Camago-2 and Bagong Pag-asa wells.

Up next: the completion and testing Camago-3 will continue, while drilling the Pag-asa exploration will continue, in order to explore additional potential gas resources.

“This achievement was made possible through the work of the SC-38 Consortium, led by Prime Energy, in partnership with UC-38, PNOC Exploration Corp, and Prime Oil and Gas Incorporated,” Marcos said.

“This proves that through responsible environmental stewardship and strong collaboration between the government and the private sector, we can achieve a more reliable energy supply for every Filipino,” he added.

The Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power project, which began commercial operations in January 2002, has served as a cornerstone of the Philippine energy sector for the past two decades.

Situated 50 km offshore Northwest Palawan, it marked the birth of the local natural gas industry and has been crucial for energy security. 

Over the last 20 years, its primary roles have included powering Luzon, as Malampaya supplies natural gas to four major power plants in Batangas (Santa Rita, San Lorenzo, San Gabriel, and Ilijan).

At its peak, it provided up to 20% to 30% of Luzon's total electricity requirements.

Energy security & independence

By providing an indigenous, cleaner energy source, it has significantly reduced the country's reliance on imported oil.

The project has also generated over $13.9 billion (more than P290 billion) in revenues for the Philippine government as of 2021/2022.