A subsidiary of businessman Enrique Razon Jr.-led corporate group, Prime Infrastructure Capital (Prime Infra), has signed a share purchase agreement to formalize the acquisition of stakes in Malampaya gas field from Dennis Uy’s firm.
Prime Infra said its unit, Prime Exploration Pte. Ltd., sealed the share purchase deal with MEXP Holding Pte. Ltd., a subsidiary of Uy’s Udenna Corporation.
Prime Infra added the transaction is still subject to the consent of the Philippine National Oil Company Exploration Corp. (PNOC EC) and the Department of Energy (DOE).
To recall, MEXP acquired 45-percent share of Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX) in Malampaya deep-water gas-to-power project. SPEX is also the operator of the natural gas field.
MEXP’s buyout of SPEX’s share in Malampaya was a subject of Senate inquiries in 2021. Senator Sherwin Gatchalian then urged the DOE to carefully assess the financial health of Udenna’s subsidiary.
Prime Infra said its acquisition of shares in Malampaya will inject investments to expand Malampaya operations, adding it supports the administration’s goal of energy security.
“We believe that gas is an important transition fuel in the near-term, to reduce the need for baseload fossil fuels like coal. Hence, we intend to accelerate investments on the Malampaya gas field to improve the output of existing wells and, if possible, develop new wells in the area once the license extension is secured from the government,” Prime Infra chairman Enrique Razon Jr. said.
Razon added that Prime Infra, Shell, and Udenna are working closely to ensure the smooth transition of Malampaya operations from SPEX to Prime Exploration.