Allseas scores $180 million installation contract offshore Philippines

Dutch offshore contractor Allseas has secured a $180 million contract with Prime Energy Resources Development, a subsidiary of Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc., to install essential pipeline and umbilical infrastructure for a natural gas field in the Philippines.

Prime Energy, leading the Service Contract 38 (SC38) consortium, reported it had officially finalized the critical contract with Allseas Nederland (Brasil) B.V. during a signing ceremony in Manila, Philippines.

This is said to mark the formalization of a pivotal agreement for the Malampaya life extension initiative, Project Sinagtala, underscoring a significant advancement in the Philippines’ energy security strategy.

Prime Energy plans to invest up to $800 million in the Malampaya field life extension by drilling two deepwater development wells in the Camago and Malampaya East fields, and a third exploration well, Bagong Pagasa, as part of the fourth development phase of the deepwater gas-to-power project, extending the life of the gas field in accordance with the 15-year license extension granted by the national government in May 2023.

Allseas has been appointed to perform the installation of key pipeline and umbilical infrastructure that will connect two new wells to the shallow water Malampaya platform via an existing manifold. The company will install multiple CRA pipelines and umbilical, power cable and structures, including PLETs, jumpers and flying leads in water depths ranging from 40 meters at the platform to 1,100 meters along the deepest infield umbilical routes.

The work will be executed in time for the first gas in 2026.

Allseas installed more than 500 kilometers of export line for the original Malampaya field development in 2000.

“Today’s signing ceremony highlights the strong partnership between Prime Energy, as a service contractor, and the Philippine government, particularly with the Department of Energy, as we finalize this crucial contract to advance Project Sinagtala and strengthen the nation’s energy security,” said Donnabel Kuizon Cruz, Prime Energy CEO. “With this agreement in place, we are ready to deliver a vital new source of gas that will support the Philippines for years to come.”

Noble Corporation was hired to spud the wells, with an additional one-well option, at the Malampaya-Camago project, with the drilling campaign scheduled to start in Q2 2025. 

Located off the coast of Palawan, the Malampaya deepwater gas-to-power project started operating with the first offshore platform in 2001 while commercial operations kicked off in 2002. In 2015, a second platform was added, the first designed and built in the country.

The project extracts natural gas and condensate from the depths of the Palawan Basin while a nearby shallow-water production platform processes the gas and exports it through a 504-kilometer pipeline to an onshore gas plant. The gas is then processed further and sent to three power plants in Batangas.

Prime Infrastructure Capital acquired 100% of the gas field from UK energy giant Shell at the end of 2022.