Prime Energy—controlled by ports and casino tycoon Enrique Razon Jr.’s Prime Infra Holdings—and its partners will invest $893 million to drill more offshore wells after announcing a new gas reserve discovery in Malampaya, the Philippines’ only producing offshore natural gas field.
The amount is the total investment for the fourth phase of Malampaya’s development, Prime Infra said in reply to Forbes Asia’s query. It covers the drilling of several new wells including the Malampaya East-1 where a new natural gas field was recently discovered.
Drilling at the newly discovered Malampaya East-1, a previously untapped reservoir, has confirmed the presence of 98 billion cubic feet of additional natural gas volume and associated condensate, Prime Infra said in a statement.
“Initial well data indicates volumes equivalent to around one-third of the remaining (productive) Malampaya gas volumes,” the company said.
The newly discovered reservoir may extend the life of Malampaya, whose current reserves are expected to run out between 2027 and 2029. Prime Energy operates the Malampaya gas field, located some 80 kilometers northwest of Palawan island in the West Philippine Sea, with partners including Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corp. and state-owned PNOC Exploration Corp.
Razon has been stepping up energy investments in recent years. Through his Prime Infra, he agreed to buy a 45% stake in the Malampaya gas field in 2022. In May last year, Prime Infra agreed to buy a 60% stake in the gas-fired power plant assets of the First Gen Corp., which is owned by the tycoon Federico Lopez and his family, for $896 million.
With a real-time net worth of $14.3 billion, Razon is among the richest Philippine tycoons. He holds stakes in global port operator ICTSI, gold producer Apex Mining and Bloomberry, which owns two casino resorts in Metro Manila.
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