Environmental groups have warned that the discovery of a new offshore gas deposit near the biodiversity-rich waters of Palawan risks locking the Philippines into fossil fuel dependence and could threaten marine ecosystems that have yet to be properly assessed.
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The government declared on Monday that a new offshore natural gas site has been identified off Palawan as the government steps up efforts to boost energy security and advance plans to position the Philippines as a liquefied natural gas (LNG) trading hub in the Asia-Pacific region.
“While we respect the government’s pursuit of natural gas development, we view this with caution given the lack of biodiversity assessments and cost-benefit analysis in the identified area,” said Grizelda Mayo-anda, co-founder and executive director of the Environmental Legal Assistance Center (ELAC), a Palawan-based nonprofit which provides legal consultation communities to uphold their constitutional right to a healthful and balanced ecology.
“There must be transparency in the sharing of benefits from the income generated by the project,” said Mayo-anda, urging the government to evaluate the environmental, socio-cultural, and economic impact of fossil fuel development on local communities, especially the fishers.
Her remarks came after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr announced the discovery of the deposit off Palawan, calling it the country’s first natural gas find in more than a decade and saying it would significantly boost energy supply and strengthen long-term energy security.
While we respect the government’s pursuit of natural gas development, we view this with caution given the lack of biodiversity assessments and cost-benefit analysis in the identified area.
Grizelda Mayo-anda, co-founder and executive director, Environmental Legal Assistance Center (ELAC)
“This [discovery] proves that with responsible environmental protection and strong collaboration between the government and the private sector, we can achieve a more reliable energy supply for every Filipino,” Marcos said in a video recording.
But Mayo-anda, also an environmental law professor at the Palawan State University College of Law, warned that the promotion of natural gas as the preferred fuel may result in a “carbon lock-in and derail the transition to renewable energy.”
The Philippines has pledged to sharply expand the share of renewable energy in its power mix, targeting at least 35 per cent by 2030 and 50 per cent by 2040, under its National Renewable Energy Programme, even as it continues to invest in new gas infrastructure to shore up near-term energy supply.
The contract of the Malampaya reserves in offshore Palawan, the country’s main domestic source of energy, is expected to end in 2024, but supply from the gas field is projected to run dry by 2027. Image: Shell Philippines
Mayo-anda’s concerns were echoed by Gerry Arances, executive director of sustainability think tank Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED), who described the continued gas exploration in the seas surrounding Palawan as “alarming”. CEED said at least 13 service contracts are currently held by various companies for oil and gas extraction in the area.
“This discovery, if pursued, dictates prolonged and expanded reliance on a finite, volatilely priced, and ecologically-detrimental resource – gas – for Filipinos, be it domestic or imported LNG,” Arances said.
Although market watchers have said that the find could lead to lower electricity prices, Arances cast doubt on the possibility, citing Malampaya’s high energy prices, unreliable electricity production and corruption.
Separately, Lia Mai Torres, executive director of nonprofit Center for Environmental Concerns-Philippines, said gas was not the best option in the country’s development, urging the government to focus on renewable energy, which “does not cause development aggression and follows human rights and ecological standards.”
Marcos, Jr has envisioned for the Philippines to become an LNG trading and transshipment hub in the Asia-Pacific region, investing heavily into the energy source touted by its proponents as a “transition fuel”.
The newly-discovered reservoir is located five kilometres from the existing Malampaya gas field, which serves as the country’s primary source of indigenous natural gas and a vital contributor to Luzon’s power supply. But its reserves are expected to run dry by 2027, driving the government to ramp up investments in fossil gas, in a bid to stave-off risks of power shortages.
The Philippines operates six gas plants in the country, primarily clustered in Batangas near the Verde Island Passage, a strait which like the seas of Palawan, lies within the Coral Triangle, the richest area of marine life on Earth.
The construction boom of massive new LNG terminals financed by the country’s largest utility companies in the Verde Island Passage has caused fish catch to dwindle and the deterioration of corals in the biodiversity-rich site, according to locals.
There are more than a 30 proposed gas projects in the entire country, in varying degrees of development or delay, based on research from CEED.
