Senator Pia Cayetano on Thursday expressed confidence that the drilling of new gas wells next year would be successful, adding that it could ”prolong the life” of the Malampaya gas project.
Cayetano said her hopes are high that drilling for two new gas wells by Prime Energy would bring positive results and extend the life of the Malampaya Deep Water Gas to Power Project.
“Drilling will start next year, (and this) hopefully will have immediate results. So (by) then we would be able to give more updates on how much can be extracted from those new sources,” Cayetano said in a press release on Thursday.
According to Cayetano, the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Energy, drilling for the new wells already has a target source with confirmed new gas deposits.
“There’s already (a) confirmed source, so we already have that, and that will extend the life (of Malampaya),” she said.
She further pointed out that the immediate approval of Senate Bill 2793 would encourage more energy companies to do exploration work for natural gas and energy projects. The proposed law “seeks to create that environment which is open to investors, all kinds, everyone.”
Cayetano earlier said the proposed measure supports the full development of the Philippine natural gas industry, noting that this will improve investor confidence in the country.
The bill will provide a market for indigenous gas by giving priority to its procurement as well as the use for power generation, a policy that was already enshrined in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA). —Anna Felicia Bajo/RF, GMA Integrated News
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