Subic Bay Freeport – The local government of San Antonio is eyeing the creation of investment opportunities in the hydrogen energy sector after the area was discovered to house the Nagsasa Seep, the world's highest recorded natural geologic hydrogen (white hydrogen) seep.

In the Talakayan Forum hosted by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) at the Welltz Bar of the Terrace Hotel inside this Freeport on April 29, San Antonio Mayor Arvin Rolly D. Antipolo discussed his plans to further create more investment opportunities in his hometown.

According to Antipolo, hydrogen is a good source of energy, with San Antonio having the potential to establish a power plant in their town since the Nagsasa Seep emits 808 tons of white hydrogen annually.

He added that this sustainable, clean energy source has the potential to power local communities and is under investigation for large-scale energy production.

Antipolo said that following the discovery of the Nagsasa Seep, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has awarded the first two areas with hydrogen gas their own petroleum service contracts, No. 83 and 84, particularly in Northern Zambales and Southern Pangasinan.

He said that he is looking forward to the Nagsasa Seep in San Antonio also being awarded its own petroleum service contract, citing that during the Lab for All event in Subic Freeport, he met with First Lady Louise “Liza” Araneta-Marcos.

The two discussed and concluded that they would talk again in the middle of May to further discuss the investment opportunities and the benefits that San Antonio will acquire from having the world’s biggest deposit of natural hydrogen gas.

The Nagsasa Seep in San Antonio, Zambales, is a significant natural hydrogen (or geologic hydrogen) source discovered in the Philippines, with studies in early 2025 finding it emits over 800 tons of hydrogen annually—one of the highest recorded in the world.

This natural seepage is linked to water-rock interactions (serpentinization) in the local ophiolite rocks, providing a potentially huge source of clean energy.

Natural hydrogen (or white/gold hydrogen) is a clean, low-cost energy source generated by Earth's geological processes, primarily through water-rock reactions (serpentinization) in iron-rich rocks.

With the potential to rival renewable green hydrogen in cost (around USD 1/kg), it offers a promising, clean alternative for industrial power and fuel, with vast reserves estimated in the Earth's crust.

Unlike gray/brown hydrogen (from fossil fuels) and green hydrogen (costly electrolysis), natural hydrogen is both clean and inexpensive to produce.