Prime: All hands on deck in Feb.
Razon-led Prime Energy, a subsidiary of Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc. and now the operator of the Malampaya Deep Water gas-to-power project said all hands are on deck to ensure a seamless two-week scheduled maintenance shutdown of the facility.
From 4 to 18 February, the Malampaya sites and host communities in barangays Tabangao, Ambulong, Libjo, San Isidro, and Malitam in Batangas will be busier than usual.
More contractors, workforces, and cargo areas are expected to come into the areas.
Prime Energy warned that flaring noise at the onshore gas plant will be experienced by the fence-line communities.
The company said maintenance work on the flare system is necessary to depressurize the whole gas plant from hydrocarbons.
Necessary pause
“The scheduled maintenance shutdown is a preventive maintenance activity that is executed at regular intervals to ensure that the Malampaya project continues to produce safe and reliable energy to supply the grid and meet the power requirements of the country,” Prime Energy General Manager Sebastian Quiniones explained.
The maintenance activities, according to Prime Energy, will help ensure that the equipment and assets within the facility operate safely and efficiently to prevent any untoward incidents.
The company also noted that all maintenance undertakings were done “in continuous coordination with the Department of Energy and has been communicated in advance to the other relevant stakeholders.”
Prime Energy sent notification letters to the DoE and its roster of customers including First Gen and other power plants as early as May 2022, as well as attended briefings with the DoE in December 2022 and January 2023.
The company said maintenance work on the flare system is necessary to depressurize the whole gas plant from hydrocarbons.
Halted natgas supply
Throughout the temporary shutdown, the supply of gas will temporarily stop, requiring the power plants that use Malampaya gas to switch to alternate sources of fuel.
To guarantee a continuous supply of power, the DoE designated “must-run” plants and encouraged bulk users to generate their supply.
Power plants on a “must run” status are required to supply electricity under all conditions.
The Malampaya project uses indigenous natural gas to reduce oil imports, contribute to better air quality, and generate significant revenues for the local government amounting to $12 billion or over P1 trillion.
Malampaya has been powering up to 20 percent of Luzon’s total electricity requirements. The consortium’s license for the project will expire in 2024.