PXP Energy Corporation (PXP) Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan has sounded an urgent heads-up regarding a possible looming crunch in energy supply for the electricity industry once the Malampaya natural gas field in Palawan runs out by 2024.
It is for this reason that Pangilinan underscores the importance of resolving the territorial tensions in the West Philippine Sea, or South China Sea, where, it is believed an abundant source of undersea fossil fuels could be tapped.
For one, oil and gas exploration at Reed Bank near the Spratly Islands Group has been held back pending the resolution of contested claims with the People’s Republic of China.
Reed Bank is also known variously as Reed Tablemount, Recto Bank and a few other names, with an estimated area of almost 9,000 square kilometers that the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in 2016 to be within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone.
The exploratory work at Reed Bank was suspended in March 2015.
“It is imperative that we start looking for alternative sources of gas now, failing which gas has to be imported. It’s as simple as that,” said Pangilinan, who is also Chairman of TV5.
“We simply cannot leave the three gas[-fired electricity generation] plants that we have, of about two or three thousand megawatts in Batangas, stranded. Brownouts would ensue for certain … Our view is that, the sovereignty issue aside, which is of course very important to the Philippines, is that we need a relationship. We need to deal with China.”
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