Options open to extend Malampaya operations
Platform visitors explored options for extending the life of Malampaya beyond 2027 when it is projected to dry up
Daily TribunePlatform visitors explored options for extending the life of Malampaya beyond 2027 when it is projected to dry up
A visit by Department of Energy and Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc. officials last 8 December of the Malampaya facility off Palawan eased lingering fears of losing the natural gas production that fuels 20 percent of electricity in the Luzon grid.
The platform visitors explored options for extending the life of Malampaya beyond 2027 when it is projected to dry up.
Prime Infra president and CEO Guillaume said the key to keeping the natural gas supply flowing is the extension of Service Contract 38, which is the license of the consortium.
Prime Infra, which bought the share of oil giant Shell in Shell Philippines Exploration BV, assumed as operator of the natural gas business.
"The most important thing to do for the company right now is to sustain and expand gas production while we address the license extension for SC 38," Lucci said.
The consortium's license for the project will expire in 2024 but SC 38 has a provision for extension premised on certain conditions.
Indigenous fuel
Malampaya processes the gas that is sent through a 504-kilometer underwater pipeline that supplies a host of power plants in Batangas.
During the assessment, the DoE officials went around the facility to check its condition together with the Prime Infra officials.
The Malampaya project uses indigenous natural gas to reduce oil imports, contribute to better air quality, and generate significant revenues for the local government amounting to $12 billion or over P1 trillion.
The DoE is assessing the conditions of the multi-billion dollar deepwater gas-to-power project to ensure its continued operations.
Energy Secretary Raphael Perpetuo Lotilla and other DoE officials, joined the Prime Infra group, including Prime Energy general manager Sebastian Quiniones, Prime Infra Director Steven Paradies, and Lucci, during a visit to the shallow water platform.
"I am happy to have visited the Malampaya platform and to have met personally the all-Filipino professional team that has maintained the facility in good condition for the benefit of a generation of Filipinos," Lotilla said.
"I look forward to the facility's serving future generations of Filipinos," he added in a press statement on Tuesday.
45% Malampaya owner
Prime Infra has recently completed its acquisition of the 45-percent operating stake in Malampaya through one of its subsidiaries, Prime Energy.
The company assumed full ownership and control of SPEX starting 1 November after a successful transition process for a safe and seamless handover of operations.
The move marked the initial foray of Prime Infra Chairman Enrique K. Razon Jr. into the upstream energy market.
According to Lucci, the company will do "all that can be done" to generate as much power as possible to keep up with the energy demands in Luzon.
