Philippines natural gas output down in 2020

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ natural gas production declined last year with the depletion of resources in the Malampaya project – the country’s only gas source, and the plunge in power demand due to the pandemic, according to the Department of Energy (DOE).

Latest data from the DOE showed gas output declined by 8.8 percent  to 141,732 million standard cubic feet (MMcf) last year.

The decline comes a year after production peaked at 155,495 MMcf in 2019.

“Production will decline annually due to depletion of reserves and decline in the reservoir pressure,” the DOE- Energy Resource Development Bureau (ERDB) said in an e-mail.

“There will be no increase in production as the operator will only be supplying what is stipulated in the gas sales purchase agreement (GSPA),” it said.

The agency said  the bulk or 132,009 MMcf of the total consumption was used in power generation, which saw a 9.8 percent drop from 146,365 MMcf a year earlier.

The DOE had said the government-imposed lockdown   drove power demand to drop by around 30 percent all over the country in 2020.

Operating since 2001, the Malampaya project supplies fuel to around 40 percent of gas-fired plants in Luzon, namely the Ilijan, Sta. Rita plant, San Lorenzo, San Gabriel and Avion plants – which supply over 3,000 megawatts (MW) to the Luzon grid.

Consumption for industrial use also declined by 39 percent from 2,642 MMcf to 1,597 MMcf. Meanwhile, the transport sector did not record any usage for natural gas.

The latest natural gas production data brought the total output at 2,390,791 billion cubic feet (Bcf) since 2000.

Consumption reached 2,299,871 Bcf, of which 2,258,969 Bcf was used for power generation, 40,178 MMcf in the industrial sector. The transport sector’s consumption remained unchanged at 184 MMcf  until 2014.

The Philippines started producing natural gas in the San Antonio Gas Field in 1995 until 2008. Currently, the country’s main source of natural gas is the Malampaya gas field offshore Palawan.

The Malampaya contract is expected to end in 2024, but supply from the gas field is projected to be depleted by early 2022 or latest by 2027.