Malampaya sets month-long shutdown

MANILA, Philippines - The Malampaya deep water-to-gas power facility in Palawan will proceed with its month-long maintenance shutdown next year despite the tight power supply situation expected in the summer of 2015.

The Department of Energy has appealed to the Malampaya consortium led by Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEx) to move the maintenance schedule, slated from March to April 2015, but the group said it could not afford to move the month-long shutdown.

“The schedule is at it is,” Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla said after a recent meeting with SPEx officials.

He said the consortium argued it would be impossible to move the maintenance work without causing problems.

“If you move it earlier, they are not ready. If you move it later, the gas will start to go down,” Petilla said.

The Malampaya consortium is scheduled to shut down the facility as part of preparations for the third phase of its expansion program.

Aside from SPEx, the consortium consists of Chevron Malampaya LLC and state-led Philippine National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp.

The Philippines will need 9,011 megawatts of power next year, higher than this year’s demand of 8,717 MW on the back of the projected growth in the economy.

Petilla has earlier proposed the declaration of a state of emergency in the power sector to allow the government to tap additional capacity.

Under Petilla’s plan, the government, through the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), would rent bunker-fueled power facilities to fill up the projected shortfall of between 300 to 500 MW.

Businessmen have supported the plan but President Aquino has yet to decide on the proposal.