Senator Pia Cayetano has vouched for further development of the country’s natural gas to “reduce our dependence on international factors that affect the prices of our energy sources.”
The new chairperson of the Senate committee on energy, expressed her commitment in stewarding the passage of a bill that would set policy to develop natural gas, including those from Malampaya field off Palawan province.
“This would be part of a transition fuel to full renewable energy,” said Cayetano.
She pointed out that Malampaya gas is our only indigenous source of natural gas.
“It is important that we have policies that will support more exploration of natural gas because energy security depends on us having our own supply,” she stressed.
Cayetano said that the proposed Philippine Downstream Natural Gas Industry Development Act, which is being deliberated by her committee, was seen as key to boost natural gas exploration.
At the energy committee hearing on the bill last Thursday, Cayetano highlighted that the government has tagged natural gas, including those from Malampaya, as a transition fuel to full renewable energy.
The Malampaya Deepwater Gas-to-Power project is the country’s first and only indigenous gas resource off the province of Palawan.
It supplies about 20 percent of Luzon’s electricity needs and has significantly contributed to the nation’s energy independence since 2001.
The senator recently toured the Malampaya Shallow Water Platform off Palawan, noting the impressive operations of the facility run by Filipinos.
She said the visit opened her eyes to the need for further exploration of indigenous gas for the country’s energy security.
“There’s no other way to discuss and envision our goal of achieving energy security and sustainability but through a future thinking lens,” related Cayetano.
Our energy security, she said, would be adversely affected if there is no electricity.
For his part, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian lauded Prime Energy’s commitment to further explore Philippine natural gas resources.
He said this is the first time he is seeing a true exploration.
Gatchalian confirmed that while there were many papers and press releases to explore and to drill for the past few years, he lamented that nothing materialized.
He is also confident there is a high chance of success that these projects, which are scheduled for next year, will push through.
“I believe we now have a serious company, a serious player who will undertake actual drilling,” he said, referring to Razon-led Prime Infra subsidiary and operator of Malampaya – Prime Energy.
“So I’m very happy to hear that there is a potential, there is now a potential, real activity in that area and real drilling will happen,” Gatchalian remarked.
