Malampaya group awards $180-M contract to support new well drilling

THE MALAMPAYA consortium, led by Prime Energy Resources Development B.V., has awarded a contract worth approximately $180 million (about P10 billion) to a Netherlands-based offshore energy contractor.

The contract aims to support the execution of the planned drilling of new wells, Prime Energy said in a statement on Thursday.

Allseas Nederland (Brasil) B.V., a subsidiary of Allseas Group specializing in offshore pipeline installation, will be installing the pipeline and umbilicals to connect two new wells in the Camago and Malampaya East fields to the Malampaya Shallow Water Platform.

Prime Energy said that Project Sinagtala, an initiative to advance Phase 4 of the Malampaya deep-water gas-to-power project, aims to extend the life of the Malampaya gas field, which is expected to be depleted by 2027. 

“Project Sinagtala is expected to increase domestic gas supply and ensure consumers benefit from stable and reliable energy that is accessible to existing and new gas power plants, in line with the Philippine Energy Plan,” the company said.

The Malampaya consortium is composed of Prime Energy Resources Development B.V., which leads the project; UC38 LLC, an energy investment firm; Prime Oil & Gas, Inc., which focuses on upstream oil and gas operations; and the state-owned PNOC – Exploration Corp., a government entity responsible for the exploration and development of oil, gas, and coal resources in the Philippines.

It has secured a 15-year renewal of Service Contract No. 38 through 2039, paving the way for the exploration and development of additional gas reserves.

“As a service contractor to the government, we are committed to maintaining high standards of production and exploration that have defined the Malampaya project since its inception in 2001,” Prime Energy President and Chief Executive Officer Donnabel Kuizon Cruz said.

“By increasing our gas supply, we extend Malampaya’s life and sustain our own ‘sariling atin’ Filipino gas, always available and at a stable and predictable price,” she added.

In March, Prime Energy announced that it had awarded a $69.9-million contract to London-based Noble for the use of its deepwater drillship. The contract covers the drilling of two wells and a third exploration well, Bagong Pagasa. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera