Philippines President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. announced on 19 January the discovery of what the government described as a “major” offshore natural gas reservoir at the Malampaya East 1 well. Officials said the find is the country’s largest gas discovery in more than a decade and could help support long-term energy security as domestic supply tightens.
President Marcos said the Malampaya East reservoir is estimated to hold about 98 Bcf of gas.
The discovery lies about 5 km east of the Malampaya field, offshore northwest Palawan in the South China Sea. Malampaya has been the Philippines’ sole producing gas field for more than 20 years and is expected to face significant production declines in the coming years.
Output from Malampaya currently accounts for about 20% of the country’s domestic energy needs.
Initial well testing at Malampaya East 1 recorded gas flow rates of 60 MMscf/D. President Marcos said the well may be capable of higher rates, describing it as “a high-productivity resource comparable to the original Malampaya wells.”
The government added that the discovery could translate into enough power to supply 5.7 million households, or approximately 200,000 schools, for 1 year. In addition to dry gas, the well also produced gas condensate, which officials said could further support the country’s domestic supply.
Malampaya East 1 is part of a wider drilling program that includes two additional wells. The Camago-3 well is scheduled for completion and testing, while the Bagong Pag-asa exploration well has yet to be drilled.
The drilling campaign is led by Prime Energy Resources Development, which holds a 40% interest in the service contract consortium. Prime Energy said the discovery is expected to increase recoverable volumes at Malampaya by an estimated 30%.
“This gas discovery is a victory for the Filipino people. When we assumed operatorship, we committed to the President and the nation to breathe new life into Malampaya and revitalize the indigenous natural gas sector. Today, we are delivering on that commitment,” the company said in a statement.
Consortium partners include US38 with a 45% interest, the Philippine National Oil Company with 10%, and Prime Oil and Gas with 5%.
The announcement comes less than 2 weeks after Murphy Oil reported a discovery at the Hai Su Vang field offshore Vietnam in the South China Sea. An appraisal well at Hai Su Vang flowed 6,000 B/D of 37 °API oil from the primary reservoir, with additional testing ongoing.
