Saturday, 3 September 2011

President Aquino kicks-off Malampaya’s next-phase development

Batangas City - President Benigno Aquino III kicked-off the next-phase development of the Malampaya Deepwater Gas-to-Power project with a visit to its Onshore Gas processing Plant in Batangas on August 9, 2011, where he witnessed the signing of the first contract awarded for the project by the Service Contract 38 (SC38) consortium.

An Executive Order creating Inter-Agency Committees to ensure success of the national government project, critical to ensure continuous supply of 40-50% of Luzon’s power requirements, was also presented by the Department of Energy (DOE).

Malampaya’s next-phase development aims to maintain the level of production and maximise the recovery of indigenous natural gas from the Malampaya and Camago reservoirs.

“Malampaya Phase 2” will entail drilling and development of two additional wells by 2014; “Malampaya Phase 3” will involve the installation of a new platform where additional equipment and facilities will be housed by 2015.

The projects, entailing new investments, are seen to further benefit the Philippines in energy self-sufficiency and government revenues, and will continue to be a major source of power for Luzon’s energy requirements in the years to come.

After the presentations, President Aquino expressed his commitment for the Malampaya project and the approval of the upstream Executive Order.

Production of natural gas to fuel three gas-fired power stations with a combined capacity of 2,700 MW commenced in October 2001 and has been providing benefits, including meeting 40-50% of Luzon’s power generation requirements, reduced oil imports, stable supply of energy, unprecedented government revenues and cleaner source of power.