By Tracy Cabrera
Routine maintenance work of the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Plant were begun last week to maintain its top level operations, the Department of Energy (DoE) disclosed.
Located offshore in northwest Palawan, it is the country’s first and only indigenous source of natural gas, supplying roughly 20 percent of Luzon’s total electricity requirements.
According to energy secretary Sharon Garin, the maintenance work covers Malampaya’s two processing hubs—the Shallow Water Platform in Palawan and Onshore Gas Plant in Tabangao, Batangas City.
“Both hubs are going through integrity inspections and mechanical, control and safety systems servicing. While these are ongoing, supply of natural gas from Malampaya will temporarily stop and power plants will temporarily switch to alternative fuel sources,” Garin noted.
Meanwhile, the energy chief disclosed that the newly discovered Malampaya East-1R1 (MAE-1R1) and Camago-3S3 (CA-3S3) wells will be integrated into the existing infrastructure to boost the supply of natural gas and extend the project’s operational life.
“The two wells, drilled under the $893-million Malampaya Phase 4 development campaign, are the country’s first significant domestic natural gas discoveries in over a decade,” she said.
Part of the Service Contract 38 (SC 38) license area and operated by Prime Energy with consortium partners UC38 LLC, Philippine National Oil Co. Exploration Corp., and Prime Oil and Gas Inc., the wells are projected to replenish declining gas reserves in the original site.
In consideration of Malampaya’s month-long closure, the DoE assured the public that the regular maintenance activity has been closely coordinated with relevant stakeholders.
