Shell Petroleum N.V. said Tuesday it completed the sale of its entire shareholding in Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. to Malampaya Energy XP Pte Ltd., a subsidiary of Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc. led by businessman Enrique Razon Jr.
Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. or Spex is the operator with a 45-percent stake in the Malampaya natural gas project northwest off Palawan. The Department of Energy earlier approved the transaction between Shell and Prime Infra which it found to be technically, financially and legally qualified as the operator of the gas-to-power project.
Shell said the sale and control transfer of Spex to Prime Infra became effective Nov. 1. This followed the receipt of consent from the joint venture partners and regulatory approvals.
“Since operations began in 2002, the Malampaya gas field has supplied an important part of the Philippines’ energy demand through the dedicated work of our partners and staff, past and present,” said Shell upstream director Zoe Yujnovich.
Spex received its license to operate in the Philippines in 1990. It then became the operator of Malampaya to explore and develop Service Contract 38 offshore northwest of Palawan.
“This sale supports our strategy to create a resilient and competitive upstream portfolio,” he said.
Spex staff will continue their employment under the new ownership.
Under Prime Infra’s ownership, Spex will continue to own a 45-percent operating interest and maintain operatorship of the Malampaya gas field.
The other SC 38 consortium members are UC38 LLC, a subsidiary of Udenna Corp. and PNOC Exploration Corp., representing the government’s interest. They own 45 percent and 10 percent participating interests in the country’s biggest natural gas-producing field, respectively.
Shell said the deal would have no impact on its other businesses in the Philippines.
“The Philippines remains an important country for Shell after over a century of successful operations. Shell will continue to pursue opportunities in the Philippines where it can leverage its global expertise in line with its Powering Progress strategy,” the company said.
Shell signed an agreement to sell interest in Malampaya in May 2021.
Prime Infra signed a share purchase agreement acquiring MEXP, the legal entity which had previously signed a deal with Shell to acquire SPEX in July.
The government cleared the sale in September after a thorough financial, legal and technical review.
The Malampaya project is one of the country’s most important power assets, producing natural gas for power plants in Batangas City that provide up to 20 percent of Luzon’s total electricity needs.