Marcos announces successful Camago-3 drilling, aiming to extend gas supply
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos shared the successful drilling of the Camago-3 well, which is expected to boost the country’s local energy supply and lessen its dependence on imported fuel.
In a video announcement on March 26, the president said that 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 $893 million Malampaya Phase 4 campaign, and it is significantly larger than our first,” he said.
“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 added.
He stressed that the new development is expected to bring steadier and cheaper power.
“Malampaya gas costs us roughly P4.80 per kilowatt-hour. Imported LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) costs P10.30. More than double. Every unit of power we generate from Malampaya instead of imported fuel is money saved by households, by small businesses, by every Filipino who pays an electricity bill," Marcos said.
This came amid the continuing global oil price surge due to the conflict in the Middle East. Marcos also announced the installation of new subsea pipelines, the first time since 2000.
“Ibig sabihin, may bagong tubo na itatanim sa ilalim ng dagat para maihatid ang gas mula sa pinagkukunan nito patungo sa ating mga tahanan at negosyo,” he explained. “We are not just extending a gas field. We are rebuilding our energy infrastructure from the ground up.”
He added that the government aims to deliver its first gas by the fourth quarter of 2026, with more drilling projects, specifically the Bagong Pag-asa well, already in progress.
“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.”
In January, Marcos shared that they have found a new gas field called Malampaya East 1 or MAE-1, which is located approximately five kilometers east of the original Malampaya field and is estimated to contain around 98 billion cubic feet of gas.
The gas field can potentially power up to 14 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, and can supply power to around 5.7 million households, 9,500 buildings, or almost 200,000 schools in a year.
Marcos declared a state of national energy emergency on March 24 in response to the Middle East conflict. He also ordered the adoption of a Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport for affected sectors. The national energy emergency will stay in effect for up to one year, unless Marcos decides to extend it or end it sooner.
