Europe firms invest P45B on new Malampaya gas platform

MANILA, Philippines - European companies engaged in the development of the new gas platform for the Malampaya gas project in Palawan have poured in P45 billion in capital, encouraged by the success of the public-private partnership project.

Several European diplomats visited the ongoing construction of the new gas platform for the Malampaya oil field in the Keppel Subic shipyard in Zambales Thursday.

“The scale of this European investment is significant by any measure. Several European companies are involved in this endeavour that promises to secure an important source of revenue for the Philippine people while creating new jobs for well-trained Filipinos in their own country,” said European Union Ambasador Guy Ledoux.

“We are convinced that many opportunities for more European job-creating investments exist. European businesses are closely following developments here, in particular with respect to reforms in customs, competition and public procurement, as they make their investment decisions.”

The Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project is operated by Shell Philippines Exploration B.V (SPEX) on behalf of joint venture partners Chevron Malampaya LLC and the Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration Corporation under Service Contract 38.

SPEX is the upstream operating company of Netherlands-based Royal Dutch Shell in the Philippines.

SPEX expects the fabrication of the second platform of the gas project to be completed within the year in time for its scheduled installation in Palawan by 2015.

SPEX has contracted Keppel Subic Shipyard to build the depletion compression platform that would be installed beside the existing one.

The deep well platform would sustain the gas project’s present output of 2, 700 megawatts delivered to the Luzon grid.

Sebastian C. Quiniones, Jr., general manager of SPEX said the installation would coincide with the 30-day maintenance shutdown scheduled within the first half of  2015.

“But we want to assure the public that the maintenance shutdown would not be scheduled during the peak period of power consumption,” he said.

The offshore transport and installation of the second gas platform would be executed by European firms Boskalis and Mammoet.

The building and installation of the new gas platform is part of the Phase 3 of the development of the Malampaya gas project.

Phase 2 of the project, which entailed the installation of two new production wells, was concluded in November and is now operational, said Quiniones.

Quiniones said the consortium alone invested $250 million in Phase 2 of the project and $750 million for Phase 3.

Natural gas from the gas project fuels three power stations to meet 40-to 45-percent of Luzon’s power requirements, reduce oil imports, and provide clean source of power.

Quiniones said the consortium continues to scout for other natural gas sources.

– With Ric Sapnu