Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Malampaya Shallow Water Platform.  Handout photo

Article (news)

Job Manahan

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176878362975520150215-malampaya-HO-2.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Malampaya Shallow Water Platform.  Handout photo</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on Monday morning announced that there was a “significant natural gas discovery” in the Malampaya field called Malampaya East-1 or MAE-1, which could supposedly strengthen the country’s domestic gas supply.</p><p>In a video statement, the President said the MAE-1 was discovered 5 kilometers east of the Malampaya field, containing around  98 billion cubic feet of gas in place.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/7/14/marcos-to-visit-malampaya-gas-platform-1417">Marcos flies by Malampaya, says hopeful for new gas reserves</a></div><p>This is equivalent, he said, to around 15 billion kilowatt-hour electricity in a year that can supply 5.7 million Filipinos, 9,500 buildings, or nearly 200,000 schools in a year.</p><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Freel%2F1524986028608581%2F&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=560&amp;t=0" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></div><div><br/></div><p>“Initial testing [shows] that the well flowed at 60 cubic feet per day, this indicates that the well has the potential to produce even more, confirming it is a high productivity resource, comparable to the original Malampaya wells,” Marcos Jr. said.</p><p>“This helps Malampaya’s contribution and strengthens our domestic gas supply for many years to come,” he said.</p><p>Aside from this, he said the Philippines also discovered condensate, which he described as “a high value liquid fuel.”</p><p>This resource will support the government’s goal in stabilizing the country’s power supply, he said.</p><p>Filipinos led the drilling and completed it “without any accident or environmental incident.”</p><p>“This achievement was made possible through the work of the SC3A consortium led by Prime Energy, in partnership with UC thirty-eight PNOC exploration Corporation and Prime Oil and Gas Inc,” he said.</p><p>According to the President, the MAE-1 was the first milestone under the Malampaya Phase 4 Drilling Campaign. He said the campaign includes Camago-2 and the Bagong Pag-asa wells.</p><p>Marcos, Jr. said among their next steps include the completion and testing of Camago-3 and the drilling of the Pag-asa exploration potential</p><p>He added that the next phase involves completing and testing Camago-3, after which drilling will proceed at the Pag-asa exploration well to further assess potential gas resources.</p><p>Prime Energy, the operator of the service contract working in Malampaya, hailed the discovery as “a breakthrough for Philippine energy independence.”</p><p>“This gas discovery is a victory for the Filipino people,” the company said in a statement.</p><p>Prime Energy, which is owned by ports tycoon Enrique Razon, said the Malampaya project has so far generated more than $13.9 billion in revenues for the Philippine government, while significantly reducing dependence on imported fuels.</p><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kNdREYljR8o?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on Monday morning announced that there was a “significant natural gas discovery” in the Malampaya field called Malampaya East-1 or MAE-1, which could supposedly strengthen the country’s domestic gas supply.</p>

President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on Monday morning announced that there was a “significant natural gas discovery” in the Malampaya field called Malampaya East-1 or MAE-1, which could supposedly strengthen the country’s domestic gas supply.

Marcos: ‘Significant’ natural gas discovery made in Malampaya, to strengthen PH’s power supply

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Marcos: ‘Significant’ natural gas discovery made in Malampaya, to strengthen PH’s power supply

Job Manahan,

ABS-CBN News

Published January 19, 2026 08:48 AM PHT

|

Updated January 19, 2026 05:03 PM PHT

Read More:

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr

Bongbong Marcos

Malampaya East-1

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