A new natural gas reservoir was discovered at Malampaya East 1 (MAE-1), located about five kilometers east of the existing Malampaya Field off Palawan, authorities confirmed on Monday, 19 January 2026.

Initial estimates indicate the reservoir contains around 98 billion cubic feet of natural gas, along with condensate, a high-value liquid fuel. Testing showed the well produced 60 million cubic feet per day, suggesting it could become a high-productivity source compared with the original Malampaya wells.

Experts say the gas from MAE-1 could potentially supply electricity equivalent to nearly 14 billion kilowatt hours per year, enough to power more than 5.7 million households, 9,500 buildings, or roughly 200,000 schools.

MAE-1 is the first milestone in the Malampaya Phase 4 drilling campaign, which also includes the Camago-2 and Bagong Pag-asa wells. The next steps involve completing and testing the Camago-3 well, followed by the Pag-asa Exploration well to identify additional gas resources.

The SC-38 Consortium, led by Prime Energy in partnership with UC-38, PNOC Exploration Corporation, and Prime Oil and Gas Incorporated, conducted the drilling. No major incidents were reported during operations.

Officials noted that this development could contribute to stabilizing the country’s energy supply and expand domestic gas resources in the coming years.