Malampaya back online after maintenance shutdown

MANILA, Philippines — The Malampaya deep water gas-to-power project has resumed operations following a month-long scheduled maintenance shutdown.

Gas delivery from the Malampaya field was restored on July 15 after Razon-led Prime Energy Resources Development B.V. completed routine maintenance and key upgrades across offshore and onshore facilities.

“Completing this turnaround safely is essential to maintaining the reliability of Malampaya’s operations and supporting the country’s energy needs,” Prime Energy president and CEO Donnabel Kuizon Cruz said.

The scheduled maintenance, which started on June 15, covered facilities at the Shallow Water Platform in offshore northwest Palawan and the Onshore Gas Plant in Tabangao, Batangas City.

During the maintenance period, the supply of natural gas from Malampaya was temporarily halted, requiring power plants to switch to alternate fuel sources.

The routine activity was carried out to ensure the Malampaya facilities continue to operate safely, reliably and efficiently, minimizing the risk of disruptions to natural gas supply.

“This activity was also critical to preparing our facilities for the next phase of indigenous gas production so that homes, businesses and industries continue to benefit from a reliable domestic energy source,” Cruz said.

Prime Energy, along with its consortium partners, is gearing up for the integration of the Malampaya East-1 and Camago-3 wells under the $893-million Malampaya Phase 4 drilling campaign.

Camago-3 flowed at rates of up to 60 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, while Malampaya East-1 was estimated to contain around 98 billion cubic feet of gas in place.

The newly drilled wells are expected to deliver new gas supply by the fourth quarter, extending the life of the Malampaya project by at least six years.

Located offshore Palawan, the Malampaya project is the country’s first and only indigenous gas resource, supplying about 13 percent of Luzon’s electricity requirements.