Dennis Uy eyes control of Malampaya

MANILA, Philippines — Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy wants to vie for the Shell Group’s stake in the $4.5 billion Malampaya deep-water gas to power project in offshore Palawan.

As the other members of the Malampaya consortium, Uy’s Udenna Group and the Philippine National Oil Co. Exploration Corp. are “the most logical choices for Shell’s stake in the natural gas project,” Udenna Group spokesman Raymond Zorrilla said yesterday.

Shell and Udenna each hold a 45 percent stake in the Malampaya project while PNOC-EC holds the remaining 10 percent.

Udenna will exercise its “pre-emptive rights and consent” should Shell decide to sell its stake to other parties outside the consortium, Zorilla said.

Selling Shell’s stake to the remaining consortium members would ensure continued employment and certainty to the local workforce as well as to its customers and stakeholders, he said.

Shell announced its plan to divest its 45 percent interest in Service Contract 38, the concession for the Malampaya project, as part of its portfolio rationalization efforts.

The Udenna Group expressed its interest to work with its other partner, PNOC EC to ensure the ongoing reliable and safe operations of the asset.

“The Udenna Group firmly believes that Malampaya is a high-quality asset, strategic to the future welfare and energy security of the country and welcome our partner PNOC Exploration Corp. to join us in taking over the field on a 100 percent basis,” Zorilla said.

Zorilla said Udenna and PNOC-EC are keen to pursue the project even with Shell’s exit.

He said the existing partners are free of any conflicts of interest associated with ownership of downstream gas and electricity businesses.

San Miguel Corp. and the MVP Group are also interested in acquiring Shell’s stake in the Malampaya project.