SEN. Pia Cayetano has sought the passage of a bill promoting the full development of the Philippines’ natural gas industry.
Cayetano on Tuesday sponsored the passage of Senate Bill (SB) 2793, or the proposed Philippine Natural Gas Development Act, which seeks the development of the country’s indigenous natural gas.
She said SB 2793 seeks to revitalize indigenous gas exploration and develop natural gas infrastructure to attain energy security.
Sen. Pia Cayetano
“This bill provides for the prioritization of indigenous gas over other imported LNG and other conventional fuels in terms of use and the production of power,” Cayetano said in a privilege speech.
“With Filipino gas, we will not be heavily dependent on foreign suppliers, who may suddenly pull out of the Philippines to sell their gas to richer buyers elsewhere,” she said.
“Filipino gas will give us a significant measure of energy security and sovereignty underpinning our economic development,” Cayetano added.
She said the bill would boost investor confidence in the Philippine economy as it would signal government commitment to industries that require heavy investments, like natural gas.
“Malampaya was supposed to be the first of many producing gas fields in the Philippines but it turned out to be the only one. It has grown old and may become depleted as early as 2027. This poses a dilemma,” Cayetano said.
She said that to support the Department of Energy’s long-term energy plan, the country “needs more” Malampayas. “We barely have one left,” she said.
Malampaya has provided stable-cost gas to power much of Luzon’s energy requirements for more than 20 years. It is the country’s first and only natural gas field.
Cayetano said natural gas would serve as a transition fuel during the Philippines’ shift to full renewable energy use.
“While the renewable energy industry is developing, natural gas can help decrease our dependence on imported coal and oil,” she said.
The bill aims to provide a market for indigenous gas by giving priority to its procurement and use for power generation, a policy enshrined in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) and successive issuances from Epira’s chief implementing agency, the DoE.
This would assure investors of a market for the production of more wells, she said. Cayetano said that the Philippines ranks lowest compared with other Southeast Asian countries in terms of natural gas discoveries. She said that natural gas as a baseload source is less harmful to the environment and less volatile to international conflicts.
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