The country’s so-called energy trilemma of sustainability, security and affordability will be addressed through natural gas which is more than just a transition fuel but is also a transformative one, Prime Energy said on Monday.

At the Norway-Philippines LNG Summit 2024 held 11 November, Prime Energy president and CEO Donnabel Kuizon Cruz said that while renewable energy plays an important role in the country’s future, natural gas is essential to bridging the gap to a low-carbon economy, offering both reliability and price stability.

Prime Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Razon-led Prime Infra, is the operator of the Malampaya gas field, the only indigenous gas source in the Philippines.

Balanced development

“I stand with the Department of Energy’s (DoE) answer: Implement a balanced Philippine Energy Plan where renewable energy capacity grows alongside natural gas as a transformative — not just transition — fuel, and to accelerate the development of indigenous resources,” Cruz said.

“The country’s massive buildup of intermittent renewable energy capacity over the next 20 years will require natural gas to fuel mid-merit baseload power generators that will maximize renewables capacity, keep power supply reliable and stabilize the cost of electricity,” she added.

She said “indigenous gas is the answer” to reduce our reliance on the global market, pointing out that its price stability helps reduce the impact of fluctuating imported fuel costs.

In addition to its affordability, indigenous gas also generates revenue for the Philippine government, supporting funding for energy projects. To date, the Malampaya consortium has remitted $13.8 billion in revenues to the government.

“Indigenous gas is the bedrock from which our natural gas industry can take root and expand. But we must recognize that indigenous gas and LNG are two parts of a whole that we call ‘natural gas’. One simply cannot thrive without the other. And we need natural gas. It is the way to transition to our energy future,” Cruz said.

“In this future, no one is left behind — by high electricity prices, by brownouts, or by the devastation of droughts and floods. This is the future that all of us in Prime Energy are committed to creating,” she added.

With the renewal of Service Contract 38 (SC 38) and under the guidance of the DoE, efforts are underway to extend the life of Malampaya through Malampaya Phase 4 dubbed as Project Sinagtala.

“The wells will produce new gas in 2026 — just 3 years after the SC38 contract renewal…This is a rare feat in such complex deepwater terrain as ours, but it can be done. It is a testament to our team’s world-class capability and innovative mindset; and equally importantly, a testament to the active support of the government and our consortium partners in making this work possible,” Cruz said.