Philippines finds new gas field east of Malampaya, says Marcos

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Philstar.com

January 19, 2026 | 8:19am

MANILA, Philippines — A significant natural gas discovery has been made near the Malampaya gas field, marking the Philippines’ first major gas find in more than a decade.

Speaking on the discovery in a video message on Monday, January 19, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said around 98 billion cubic feet of natural gas was found about five kilometers east of the Malampaya field, offshore Palawan. He said the volume is enough to supply power to about 5.7 million homes for a year.

The find comes as the Malampaya gas field — the country’s only producing offshore gas facility — is expected to run dry within a few years, raising concerns over energy security and power costs.

“This helps Malampaya’s contribution and strengthens our domestic gas supply for many years to come,” Marcos said in a statement.

Initial testing showed the well flowed at 60 million cubic feet of gas per day, indicating the potential for higher output, the president said.

The newly discovered reservoir, called Malampaya East 1 (MAE-1), is the first milestone under the Malampaya Phase 4 Drilling Campaign, which also includes the Camago and Bagong Pag-asa wells.

“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 said.

Power supply, energy security. Marcos said the gas in place is equivalent to nearly 14 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, enough to power millions of households, thousands of buildings, or nearly 200,000 schools in a year.

Aside from natural gas, the discovery also includes condensate, a high-value liquid fuel that can help support efforts to stabilize the country’s power supply.

The president said the discovery would help cushion the impact of Malampaya’s eventual decline, noting that the field currently supplies about 40% of Luzon’s power requirements.

The Philippines has some of the highest electricity costs in the region and relies on imported, carbon-belching coal for more than half of its power generation, while also experiencing periodic power outages.

In 2022, then president Rodrigo Duterte called a halt to oil and gas exploration in areas of the South China Sea disputed with China.

Filipino-led drilling

Marcos said Filipino workers led the drilling of the MAE-1 well, which was completed without accidents or environmental incidents.

“Ipinagmamalaki rin natin na Pilipino ang nanguna sa drilling na ito,” he said. ("We would be proud to say that Filipinos are led this drilling.")

The project is being carried out by the SC 38 Consortium, led by Prime Energy Resources Development B.V., together with UC38, PNOC Exploration Corporation, and Prime Oil and Gas Inc.

Following MAE-1, the next steps include further testing of Camago-3 and the drilling of the Pag-asa exploration well to pursue additional gas resources, Marcos said. — with reports from Agence France Press