‘A tight hole’ at Malampaya

Last year, the Department of Energy (DOE) stamped its confidence on Malampaya with the drilling of three new wells, promising fresh gas flows from the country’s only commercial field starting this 2026.

- MYRNA M. VELASCO

The drilling timetable had slated October-November 2025 as the completion date; yet months later, questions linger as the DOE and the Prime Energy-led Malampaya consortium remain publicly tight-lipped on the outcome.

Equally absent are hard answers regarding the start date of new gas production and the true volume of recoverable gas remaining in the country’s sole commercial field.

With Service Contract 38 (SC 38) for Malampaya extended for 15 years (from February 2024 to February 2039) by the Marcos administration, the aim is clear: to prop up Malampaya’s waning production and postpone its anticipated depletion in 2029. However, that goal has yet to be indisputably proven.

The ‘tight hole’ puzzle

The anticipated grand announcement of Malampaya’s drilling results never came. Instead, industry sources have hinted at a ‘tight hole’ situation—a shrouded outcome that raises more questions than answers. These industry whispers have been affirmed by well-placed sources within the DOE and even from Malampaya’s minority shareholder, the state-run Philippine National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC).

Within the exploration and production (E&P) sector, a ‘tight hole’ is industry code for confidentiality—a drilling phase where operators deliberately lock away details like depth, formations, and data under the guise of protecting competitive interests.