DRILLING new gas wells at the Malampaya gas field is projected to yield successful returns, with the chairperson of the Senate committee on energy confident that the expansion will enhance the field’s productivity and extend its lifespan.

“Drilling will start next year, (and this) hopefully will have immediate results. So (by) then we would be able to give more updates on how much can be extracted from those new sources,” Sen. Pilar Juliana “Pia” S. Cayetano, chair of the Senate committee on energy, was quoted as saying in a statement on Thursday. 

During the interpellation of Senate Bill No. 2793, the proposed Philippine Natural Gas Industry Act, on Wednesday, Ms. Cayetano, the bill sponsor, expressed optimism that drilling for two new wells by the Malampaya consortium, led by Prime Energy Resources Development B.V., will produce favorable outcomes.

“There’s already a confirmed source, so we already have that and that will extend the life (of Malampaya),” she said.

The project involves drilling two deepwater wells in the Camago and Malampaya East fields by 2025, with production expected to begin in 2026.

The Malampaya gas field, the country’s sole natural gas provider, is expected to be depleted by 2027.

Ms. Cayetano said that the immediate approval of the bill will encourage more energy companies to undertake exploration work for natural gas and energy projects, as the proposed law “seeks to create that environment which is open to investors, all kinds, everyone.”

“When we support this natural gas bill, this will ensure that we now have a steady supply that comes from our own country, hindi tayo vulnerable sa mga nangyayari sa ibang bansa (we will not be vulnerable to events in other countries),” she said, referring to international conflicts that cause price volatility. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera