Prime Energy eyes new Malampaya gas output

By Myrna M. Velasco – February 8, 2023, 2:25 PM
from Manila Bulletin

Malampaya gas field operator Prime Energy, a subsidiary of Razon-led Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc., is eyeing to extract fresh volume of additional gas by 2026 if the government will approve the firm’s application for 15-year license extension.

At the PowerTrends forum, Wednesday, Feb. 8, Prime Infra President and CEO Guillaume Lucci indicated that their Malampaya operating firm “will produce new gas from the new wells before 2026.”

He emphasized that the intent is to undertake new round of exploration activities within the Service Contract 38 (SC) block as well as the surrounding areas.

The existing license for the Malampaya field will expire by February 2024 and the Philippine government has yet to render decision on Prime Energy’s bid on stretching the service contract for the gas field project.

Earlier, Prime Energy said that the target of the Malampaya consortium is to carry out extended seismic survey at prospect areas with the drilling of two operational wells as well as one exploratory well.

The Malampaya consortium comprised of Prime Energy as the operating entity; then UC38 of Uy-led Udenna Corporation as major-shareholder with 45-percent equity, while state-run Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration Corporation (PNOC-EC) is minority shareholder with 10-percent stake in the project.

When asked by the media on the remaining scale of Malampaya output between 2024-2026 or prior to the planned extraction of new gas output, Michael Sinocruz, director of Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Policy and Planning Bureau, emphasized that the actual figure has yet to be re-evaluated given that the pressure of the wells are already low.

“We are not sure yet because that will depend on assessment and evaluation and exploration – the 3D seismic survey and all others…we’re still reviewing the contract, whether to extend it or not,” he stressed.

Apart from targeted drilling of new production wells, the energy official stated that part of the work program submitted by Prime Energy covers plans on what the Malampaya consortium will resort to as next steps in case their service contract is not extended.

At this stage, however, it has been hinted that the likely outcome will be contract extension because additional gas yield from the project would still be highly critical in addressing the country’s near-term to medium- as well as long-term energy needs.