DOE, PNOC-EC urge SC to expand energy exploration as Malampaya reserves decline

The Department of Energy (DOE) and the Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration Corporation (PNOC-EC) are urging the country’s judiciary to push for the expansion of indigenous energy explorations to secure the country’s future energy supply.

This, as the Malampaya Deepwater Gas-to-Power Project sees the continued natural decline of gas reservoir pressure and experts warn of an impending energy crisis, according to the DOE and PNOC-EC.

The issue was raised by DOE and PNOC-EC during a recent virtual forum organized by the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines.

While there is a wealth of opportunities that can be explored in the country, both the DOE and the PNOC-EC clamored for the immediate resolutions by the Supreme Court of legal challenges pertaining to the expansion of upstream explorations to find the next gas field that can equal Malampaya’s contribution to the nation.

“We have to re-emphasize that everything goes together: legal, executive, and judicial. We are pushing for the expansion of exploration areas. We are making it more attractive to investors. At the end of the day, the judiciary will be the judge,” said DOE Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella.

This was echoed by PNOC-EC president Rozzano Briguez.

“There are challenges regarding the legal processes that we have. We are looking at a very good prospect. What is preventing us are legal aspects with our laws and regulations,” Briguez said.

The Malampaya facility powers up to 20% of the country’s electricity for 20 years now.

It has generated over $12 billion worth of revenues remitted directly to the Philippine government, making it one of the country’s most successful public-private partnerships.

However, Malampaya’s reserves was forecas to be depleted by 2024, which emphasizes the need for the discovery and development of new energy sources.

The DOE said that investor reluctance to perform exploration activities may be due to the Malampaya consortium's case before the SC over income taxes questioned by the Commission on Audit (COA). 

“We have to tell the judiciary that exploration is also important. The Constitution tells us to explore and develop our own indigenous sources. We need to utilize all our resources as well. The way forward is to develop all options,” Fuentebella said.

For his part, Briguez emphasized the importance of drilling and developing our own indigenous resources, stating that drilling would allow the country to discover the rich natural resources and amplify data collection.

“While we are waiting for the depletion of Malampaya, Malaysia has already discovered seven times more just by drilling. The most important is to make the investment climate to make the operational data enticing. We need a good grasp of prospectivity so that investors will know,” Briguez said. — BM, GMA News