Malampaya Phase 4 achieves first gas delivery

MANILA, Philippines — The Malampaya East-1 and Camago-3 wells, discovered earlier this year, have completed their first delivery of natural gas to the Malampaya gas transmission infrastructure in Batangas, officially connecting the wells to power plants serving the Luzon grid.

The wells, located offshore Palawan, add 222 billion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas reserves to the field. These reserves are capable of powering 13.11 million Filipino households and producing around 31.46 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity.

The discovery of these wells, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said, may lead to more competitive power rates because of reduced reliance on imported energy resources. Malampaya gas costs P4.80 per kilowatt-hour, almost half the price of imported liquefied natural gas.

More than half of the country's energy resources come from abroad, leaving the sector susceptible to supply disruptions linked to geopolitical tensions. The Department of Energy has been urged to penalize erring power firms amid high electricity prices, as well as recurring grid alerts in the Visayas and Mindanao.

Housing, water, electricity and gas costs pushed inflation in October to 7.8%, the highest rate seen in almost four years. The index, which accelerated to 9.3% from 8.4% in September, also drove up transport costs. Prices have continued to soar due to conflict in the Middle East, though eased export restrictions in East and Southeast Asian markets have dampened price hikes.

A state of national energy emergency was declared on March 24 and will last for one year, unless extended or lifted by the president.