Malampaya continues to provide electricity to Luzon customers

MANILA, Philippines — Shell Philippines Exploration B.V (SPEX) said the Malampaya deep-water gas-to-power project continues to supply the power needs of Luzon in order to sustain the operations of hospitals and vital facilities amid the enhanced community quarantine.

“We’ve taken measures to ensure that we can keep the offshore platform and the onshore gas plant staffed even with the current, difficult circumstances,” SPEX managing director and general manager Don Paulino said.

”Our commitment to the country remains, our operations will work round-the-clock to produce Malampaya natural gas and power up to 40 percent of Luzon’s electricity,” he said.

Malampaya’s engineers, operators, and maintenance crew are being regularly rotated and flown offshore to the platform to continue its operations.

SPEX said stringent measures had been put in place to look after the health and well-being of its  workforce, such as screening of employees and social distancing measures and medical evacuation.

“We need power to keep hospitals running; sustain the operations of pharmacies, banks, groceries, and other vital facilities; enable internet services that keep us connected; and to light our households. Now, more than ever, energy is needed to power our nation,” Shell Philippines chairman Cesar Romero said.

As the operator of Malampaya Deep Water Gas Field under Service Contract 38,  SPEX raised operational concerns amid the Luzon-wide quarantine.

Among the concerns raised by SPEX were the possible access restriction of critical operational and engineering staff and contractors, including vehicles used for transport purposes in NCR; continuation of the operations of the Batangas supply base in Batangas port, continuation of the operations of marine supply vessels and other support vessels that berth in Palawan and Batangas and the need for unhindered crew change cycles of offshore personnel operating the Malampaya platform.

Operating since 2001, the Malampaya offshore platform and onshore gas plant are key installations to the nation’s energy security.  The Malampaya is the only local producer of indigenous natural gas.