MANILA — President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. announced a major development in the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project, revealing the successful drilling of the Camago-3 well, which is projected to extend the country’s indigenous energy supply and reduce reliance on imported fuel.

In a video message, Marcos said the Camago-3 well has been “successfully drilled and tested, producing up to 60 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.”

“It is the second major milestone under our USD893 million Malampaya Phase 4 campaign, and it is significantly larger than our first,” he said, referring to the Malampaya East-1 (MAE-1) discovery announced in January.

The Malampaya project, located offshore Palawan, supplies up to 20 percent of Luzon’s electricity requirements and remains the Philippines’ only indigenous source of natural gas.

Marcos said Camago-3 contains significantly higher recoverable gas reserves and extends the life of the Malampaya gas field to six years. “Camago-3 holds an estimated 2.5 times more recoverable gas than the Malampaya East-1 discovery. Together, these two wells are projected to extend the life of the Malampaya gas field by an estimated six years,” he said.

Highlighting its impact on electricity costs, Marcos explained that power generated from Malampaya costs roughly PHP4.80 per kilowatt-hour, compared to PHP10.30 for imported LNG, translating to significant savings for households and small businesses.

The President also announced the installation of new subsea pipelines—the first since 2000—to support expanded gas delivery, targeting first gas delivery by the fourth quarter of 2026. Additional drilling projects, including the Bagong Pag-asa well 30 km north of Malampaya, are already underway.

“This is indigenous energy. It is ours. This is our future. And it is how we protect every Filipino from the burden of rising global fuel prices,” Marcos said.