PRIME ENERGY Resources Development B.V. (Prime Energy), the operator of the Malampaya gas field, has resumed the supply of gas to power plant customers following the completion of maintenance, the Department of Energy (DoE) said.
In a statement, the DoE said Malampaya was shut down as scheduled between Feb. 4 and 18. It underwent maintenance without incident.
“The DoE welcomes the successful completion of the maintenance works on the Malampaya platform, pipelines and entire system,” the DoE said.
“The works were completed with zero incidents recorded. This was achieved through diligent planning and execution by the operator, Prime Energy, in coordination with the DoE,” the DoE said.
Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla said that he expects to further upgrade the technical capabilities of Philippine energy suppliers.
Malampaya gas powers 27% of Luzon’s power requirements. During the shutdown, power plants supplied by Malampaya ran on liquid fuel.
First Gen Corp. said only its 420-megawatt (MW) San Gabriel plant went offline during the Malampaya shutdown.
Its other power plants, the 1,000-megawatt Santa Rita, 500-MW San Lorenzo and 97-MW Avion ran on liquid fuel during the two-week shutdown.
Upon the switchover to gas, ”San Gabriel went online at 7 a.m. today. Santa Rita 1 of four units is now on Malampaya gas. San Lorenzo and Avion have been on Malampaya Gas since past midnight,” First Gen said.
The other units of Santa Rita are still on liquid fuel as Malampaya ramps up its supply.
Prime Infrastructure Capital, Inc., through its subsidiary Prime Energy, is a member of the Malampaya consortium, which is exploiting Service Contract 38.
Prime Energy holds a 45% stake in the Malampaya project. The other members of the consortium, UC38 LLC and PNOC Exploration Corp., own a 45% and 10% interest, respectively. — Ashley Erika O. Jose