Natural gas bill aimed at attracting investors
THE chairmann of the Senate Committee on Energy said over the weekend that Senate Bill 2793 or the proposed Philippine Natural Gas Development Act will boost investor confidence as it will send the strongest signal to investors that there is natural gas waiting to be explored in the Philippines.
In the continuation of interpellation for the bill, Sen. Pia Cayetano said the proposed measure would be âlike a giant billboard telling the world that the Philippines is open for investments in natural gas.â
âIt seeks to declare that the Philippines is open and will have very clearcut policies on natural gas, indigenous natural gas development, so that, in itself, is going to send the right signal,â said Cayetano.
Also, this will address investorsâ queries on whether the country is ready to develop its indigenous gas resources and open these to investments.
SB 2793 seeks to fill the gaps in policies, framework, legal support and incentives for investors to revive the exploration of indigenous gas resources, she said, adding that it gives the Philippines another chance to develop and use its own indigenous gas.
âItâs an opportunity because let me emphasize, this is indigenous gas. It is found in the Philippines. It is owned by the Philippines,â she stressed.
âSo by passing this law, itâs like erecting a billboard on Edsa [Epifanio delos Santos Avenue] globally and tell them that the Philippines is prioritizing natural gas,â she added. âIf you are an expert in natural gas, youâre welcome to come here. We have good business opportunities.â
Service Contract 38 (SC38) Consortium, led by Prime Energy Resources Development BV (Prime Energy), is well on-track towards extending the life of Malampaya gas field with the recent award of a major contract worth approximately $180 million to Allseas Nederland (Brasil) B.V.
Allseas will instal the pipeline that will connect two new wells to the Malampaya Shallow Water Platform. The wells will be drilled in 2025 and will deliver new gas by 2026.
According to the consortium, the focus for the execution phase through the end of year is to finalize the detailed well design to become drill-ready and, in parallel, further develop the pipeline design to ensure it can withstand all load stress scenarios applicable in the challenging deepwater subsea canyon crossing of the Camago-Malampaya field.
Aside from Prime Energy, other key players in the all-Filipino consortium are the Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration Corporation (PNOC-EC), UC 38 LLC, and Prime Oil and Gas Inc.
The Malampaya gas field off the province of Palawan is the countryâs first and only indigenous gas resource. It supplies about 20 percent of Luzonâs electricity needs.
Source: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2024/09/09/natural-gas-bill-aimed-at-attracting-investors/