‘Malampaya has contributed over $13.5 billion in revenues to the Philippine government while powering up to 20 percent of Luzon’s electricity requirement… ‘
A LITTLE less than three decades ago, the government adopted what was then referred to as daylight saving time (DST) in view of an energy crisis that adversely affected the national economy — and effectively altered the people’s daily routine.
The government implemented DST — the practice of advancing clocks to make better use of the longer daylight available so that darkness falls at a later time — as the energy supply was reduced to a level way below the normal operating norm.
It was also during that time that power outages posted record-high duration — eight hours daily on a rotational basis. It was then that the government realized the need to find means to address the problem, for which the idea of tapping the country’s abundant deposit was conceived — hence the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power project.
However, even after the government adopted the Malampaya project as its solution to the growing demand for electricity, it took a little less than 10 years for the actual project to kick off. Malampaya project began its commercial operations in January 2002 and has contributed over $13.5 billion in revenues to the Philippine government while powering up to 20 percent of Luzon’s electricity requirement using indigenous natural gas.
Moving forward, the experts hinted at a nearing depletion of Malampaya project’s natural gas by 2027 and perhaps the return of the DST.
With this question in mind, I asked the proper authorities to provide an answer to the mounting public concern — the Department of Energy whose mandate under Republic Act 7638 (which created the DOE) is to prepare, integrate, coordinate, supervise and control all plans, programs, projects and activities of the government relative to energy exploration, development, utilization, distribution and conservation.
Through the kind assistance of DOE Undersecretary Wimpy Fuentebella, I was able to talk to his colleague, renowned geologist Alessandro Sales. In his capacity as undersecretary supervising the Energy Resource and Management Bureau speaking for and on behalf of the energy department, Sales categorically warded off the resurgence of DST even as he claimed that the government has been tediously working to ensure that the Malampaya project would continue to provide what is required to prevent an economic slump just because of an energy crisis.
If that’s the case, well and good to the team of DOE Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla. However, not every Juan dela Cruz may be able to comprehend the highly technical explanation that Usec Sales presented. As much as I can, I will try to capsulize Usec Sales’ explanation so that non-technical guys would understand. Here’s what Usec Sales told me.
More than providing what is required for power plants to run in the last 20 years or so, the Malampaya project has become one of the largest and most significant industrial endeavors in Philippine history.
A joint undertaking of the Philippine national government and the private sector, the project is spearheaded by the DOE and developed and operated by private partners equipped with the financial capability, technical know-how and expertise to keep the project running safely and efficiently.
Since it began operations in 2001, the Malampaya project has produced cleaner-burning natural gas which supplies four power plants in Luzon, the country’s largest island, with a combined capacity of 3,200 megawatts.
In countless ways, Malampaya effectively reduced oil imports, ensured a more stable supply of cleaner energy from an indigenous resource and met up to 20 percent of the country’s energy requirements.
In 2013, Malampaya Phases 2 and 3 commenced to maintain the level of gas production to fulfill a commitment to ensuring a steady supply of natural gas to power the Luzon electricity grid.
In 2015, Malampaya Phase 3, which involved the design, fabrication and installation of a new Depletion Compression Platform — the first of its kind in the Philippines, was completed.
Interestingly, all these and more would not have materialized without the private partners in the energy sector. It was and has always been the energy industry partners who have been bankrolling this venture.
These energy industry partners are into business and as such are expected to make profits with the possibility of losing big time which on a closer look would still be way cheaper for us Filipinos as compared to the cost of relying on imported gas and taxpayers’ money being used for exploration and building Malampaya’s Phase 2 and 3. In other words, it has high risks and high rewards for DOE’s energy industry partners and zero risks for tax-paying Juan Dela Cruz.
There’s just one glitch that the public should realize. The natural gas from Malampaya has a minimal impact on the bill shocks from Meralco. Residents of Metro Manila feel electrocuted every day due to the high cost of electricity every billing cycle per month.
