Philippines makes first 'significant natural gas discovery' in over a decade: Marcos

Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos said Jan. 19 that the Southeast Asian country has made a "significant natural gas discovery" in a reservoir called Malampaya East 1, or MAE1, which is located about 5 kilometers east of the existing Malampaya field.

"The MAE-1 is estimated to contain around 98 billion cubic feet of gas in place. This helps Malampaya's contribution and strengthens our domestic gas supply for many years to come," Marcos said in a video statement posted on Facebook.

"Initial testing showed that the well flowed at 60 million cubic feet per day -- this indicates that the well has the potential to produce even more, confirming it is a high-productivity resource comparable to the original Malampaya wells," Marcos said.

"Aside from the natural gas, the discovery also includes condensate, which is a high-value liquid fuel," Marcos said, adding that this additional resource can help support the government's efforts to stabilize the country's power supply.

Marcos said that MAE-1 is the first milestone under the Malampaya Phase 4 drilling campaign, adding that the achievement was made possible through the work of the SC3A consortium led by Prime Energy, in partnership with UC38 PNOC Exploration Corp. and Prime Oil & Gas Inc.

The Malampaya gas field, located 820 meters deep and 80 kilometers off the coast of Palawan Island, was commissioned in October 2001. Commercial production of about 400 MMscf/d began in June 2002 to fuel 2,700 MW of gas-fired power plants in Batangas. It is the Philippines' largest gas field and only the country's second commercial gas discovery to date, according to its Department of Energy.

The most significant discovery was made in 1992 through a partnership between Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX) and Occidental Petroleum (Oxy) under Service Contract 38 (SC 38). This discovery is the Malampaya structure, located in the deeper part of the Camago-Malampaya trend.

The Malampaya gas field has proven reserves of about 2.7 Tcf of natural gas and 85 million barrels of condensate, located some 3,000 meters below sea level, according to the DOE.

The Philippines commissioned its first LNG terminal in 2023, as production at Malampaya, the country's primary gas field, has been declining, making the development of the country's LNG infrastructure increasingly critical.