Prime eyes growth beyond Malampaya

Prime Energy, operator of the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project — the country’s only indigenous gas field — is positioning itself to play a larger role in securing the Philippines’ long-term energy future.

Speaking at the Asia Pacific Energy Council Capital Assembly in Singapore, Prime Energy president and CEO, Donnabel Kuizon Cruz said, “Prime Energy’s vision and purpose have been very clear to us from the start: we aim to be a world-class Filipino energy company providing long-term energy security to Filipinos.”

She added, “We’ve proven we can operate assets well and rig up a major project in record time. Now we are looking beyond our boxes, and evolving as an exploration company, too.”

Service Contract 76

A wholly-owned subsidiary of Razon-led Prime Infra, Prime Energy has partnered with Ratio Petroleum to explore Service Contract 76 in the East Palawan Basin and is pursuing farm-in opportunities in oil and gas blocks both in the Philippines and abroad.

“Ultimately, we want to see more oil and gas hubs in the Philippines operated by generation upon generation of Filipino experts. We want more Filipinos to lead better lives because they have energy security. We want to thrive beyond Malampaya,” Cruz said.

The Prime Energy executive stressed the need to develop indigenous gas resources to meet rising energy demand and avoid deeper dependence on imported fuel, exposing the country to volatile global markets.

International brownfield assets

Prime Energy, said Cruz, has also entered the deal process to acquire international brownfield assets.

These efforts build on Prime Energy’s ongoing work to extend the life of Malampaya, with Phase 4 already started last week.

It’s $893-million Phase 4 development, one of the largest upstream energy investments in the Philippines in more than a decade, involves drilling two new deepwater wells.

The wells will be tied back to the existing platform via a 12-kilometer subsea pipeline laid across a canyon at depths reaching 1.2 kilometers, making it one of the most complex underwater projects in Asia Pacific.

“With these two new production wells, we hope to extend Malampaya’s life and sustain revenue remittances to the government as we continue to explore new gas sources,” Cruz said.

Prime Energy will also be drilling an exploration well in a new field named Bagong Pag-Asa.

Cruz credited recent government actions with enabling this momentum, particularly the extension of Service Contract 38 to 2039 and the passage of the Philippine Natural Gas Industry Development Act, which secures domestic demand for locally sourced gas and supports investment in upstream development.