Razon’s Prime Energy forms advisory council for long-term dev’t of Malampaya

Ports tycoon Enrique Razon’s Prime Energy, which took over the 45% operating stake in the Malampaya project, has formed an advisory council for the long-term and multi-year planning on the exploration and development of the natural gas-to-power facility.

In a statement on Tuesday, Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc., the parent of Prime Energy, said the subsidiary created the council - composed of technical experts and key industry leaders - to provide technical expertise and assist the firm’s management team “in crafting necessary structures for implementation, as well as serve as a sounding board for fundamental actions such as engaging with authorities.”

“The new advisory council initiated by Prime Energy for the Malampaya project will serve the purpose of providing strategic advice and technical guidance to support me and the Board in this critical time when the company’s exploration and development programs are about to commence to prolong the gas supply, which is becoming increasingly scarce,” said Prime Energy general manager Sebastian Quiniones.

Prime Infra said that all concerned parties of the Malampaya project, including the joint venture partners in the consortium and the Department of Energy (DOE), agree that urgent action is needed to address the depleting supply of gas.

The company said that by 2025-2026, gas exports will reach near technical minimum before new gas can be sourced.

Among the members of the advisory council were:

• Cesar Buenaventura, the first Filipino president of Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation (PSPC);
• Jose Ibazeta, Prime Metro Power director and served as president and CEO of the Power Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) from 2007 to 2010 and acting secretary of the Department of Energy from January 2010 to May 30, 2010; 
• Rufino Bomasang, former Philippine National Oil Company - Exploration Corporation president and CEO, former executive director of the Office of Energy Affairs (forerunner of the Department of Energy), and government counterpart of Buenaventura in establishing the upstream sector of the Philippines.
• Antoine Bliek, former Shell project manager for Malampaya Phase 2 and 3 and former project director of Shell Majnoon in Iraq, who has over a decade of leadership experience in multi-billion upstream projects; and
• Jose Jerome Pascual III, former Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. finance director, former PSPC chief finance officer (CFO), chief risk officer (CRO), VP finance & treasurer, who has over 30 years of finance and business experience at Shell in both downstream and upstream operations in the Philippines, Netherlands, Kazakhstan and Brunei; was 2020 president of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX), and recipient of the 2014 ING-FINEX  CFO award of the year.

“Backed by technical experts and specialist contractors from around the globe, Prime Energy is well equipped to plan and execute viable projects to extract more gas from reservoirs in the Service Contract 38 area covering the Malampaya project, and tie these to the existing operating assets,” Prime Infra said.

The Prime Infra added it supports Prime Energy in other areas such as project financing, supply chain and logistics, human resources, and government and external relations.—AOL, GMA Integrated News