Drilling operations under Phase 4 of the Malampaya gas-to-power project are set to begin soon, with the drillship Noble Viking scheduled to arrive at the site off northwest Palawan by May 30, according to the Department of Energy (DOE).
DOE Undersecretary Alessandro Sales said during a press briefing in Taguig City on Thursday that the Noble Viking, along with three support vessels, is currently docked in Labuan, Malaysia, undergoing final inspections and material loading.
The operation involves drilling three wells—two for gas production and one for exploration. The drilling campaign is expected to last 150 days, concluding around October 2025. If successful, this effort could extend the life of the Malampaya gas field to 2034, from the current end-of-life estimate of 2029.
Sales added that once drilling is completed, the hookup and pipelining to connect the new wells to Malampaya’s production facilities will begin in the last quarter of 2025.
Currently, Malampaya supplies 1.2 to 1.3 gigawatts (GW) of power, down from its peak due to declining reserves. The DOE aims to boost output to 1.5 to 1.7 GW.
One of the three wells, dubbed “Bagong Pag-asa” (New Hope), is an exploration well that could bring in additional gas volumes if proven successful.
To meet energy demand amid the decline in Malampaya’s output, imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) is being used through two terminals in Batangas.
Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla emphasized that natural gas is a key part of the Marcos administration’s energy transition strategy, serving as a bridge between coal and renewable energy. As of 2023, natural gas made up 22 percent of the country’s power generation mix.
Currently, 54 percent of the Philippines’ primary energy supply is imported. Coal remains the dominant energy source at 63 percent, with 83 percent of that coal being imported—99.5 percent of it from Indonesia, Lotilla noted.
The DOE is also intensifying exploration in other regions, particularly the East Palawan and Sulu Sea basins, with five service contracts in various stages of awarding.