FLYING IN THE PHILIPPINES

By Brian Currie, Contract and Base Manager in the Philippines

PHI began operating in the Philippines over 8 years ago.

HomeBase hears from Brian Currie, Contract and Base Manager in the Philippines, about working through COVID, a destructive typhoon and the upcoming move to a new base in El Nido.

A Long-Standing Partnership with Shell

PHI has supported Shell Philippines Exploration and Production (SPEX) for over nine years, securing the contract to provide transportation services to the Malampaya Deep Water Gas to Power Project back in September of 2013. The project delivers gas from an offshore gas field to three onshore power plants near the city of Batangas (100 kilometres south of Manila).

It’s a complex operation, with gas extracted from 2,200 meters below the seabed, which is at a water depth of 830 meters. Extracted natural gas deposits are then processed on the Malampaya platform and transported to market by pipeline over 500 kilometres away. The Malampaya field currently produces 40% of the electricity for the Philippines’ largest island, Luzon.

PHI has worked closely with SPEX through several heavy maintenance projects and one significant construction project in 2015. During this time, SPEX manufactured and installed a Depletion Compression Platform (DCP) which is designed to extend the life of the gas field. Over a 15-month period, the number of workers offshore tripled, necessitating the use of an offshore accommodation vessel and an increase in flights from six to 20+ per week to support the project.

Today, PHI operates two AW139s from the Puerto Princesa base with 26 people, including pilots, engineers, ground staff, administration and logistics staff supporting the operation. Since 2013, PHI has had a total of five different AW139s flying on this contract. Moving these aircraft in and out of the Philippines has proven to be one of the more challenging aspects of the operation. The current fleet consists of a primary aircraft that originated in Nigeria, was modified in New Zealand and then ferried to the Philippines via Australia. The technical backup came by sea freight from Victoria, Canada, and was then flown to the Philippines from Singapore. PHI crews have also returned base aircraft to Singapore and as far away as Mumbai, India. No small feat considering the logistics involved with ferrying a helicopter 3,833 nautical miles, through seven countries.

Team arrival in India

Malampaya Astoria plaform

Diagram of Malampaya production

Operating Throughout COVID

PHI has continued to operate seamlessly throughout the pandemic with no service interruptions since March 2020. When the pandemic broke out, the base had several crews in transit to the Philippines so there was a scramble to get these individuals into the country before the borders closed.

Thankfully, these crews arrived a day before international borders shut but were scattered throughout the country. The mission was then to get everyone to Manila and then to Palawan via charter aircraft to begin their tours. Tours have lasted anywhere from five to nine months given the strict border and quarantine controls in the Philippines and other countries such as New Zealand.

Like all PHI operations during COVID, it has been one challenge after another; however, all staff in the Philippines have gone above and beyond in their efforts to keep the operation running smoothly.

Typhoon Rai

While typhoons are a common occurrence in the Philippines, Typhoon Rai (also known as Odette), which hit the country in December last year, was more severe than usual. The PHI team closely tracked the typhoon’s progress, which some models predicted to track north of Puerto Princesa and go directly over the Malampaya platform.

On making landfall, the typhoon however landed right between the platform and Puerto Princesa, devastating a portion of the island with wind speeds up to 195kmh/h. According to Brian, it was the hardest Puerto Princessa had been hit since PHI arrived in 2013. The typhoon left significant infrastructural damage in its wake, with roads and bridges wiped out and no electricity, water or telecommunications for several days, impacting operations and local staff and their families right before Christmas. The airport was closed for several days as relief flights to the island were prioritised.

SPEX, PHI and local partner INAEC all made company contributions to help repair damage to homes and provided accommodation to local staff whose homes had been impacted by the typhoon. Brian says the team remained as resilient as ever and in good spirits, despite the additional challenges.

Damage from the typhoon.

Further destruction from Typhoon Rai.

The Move to El Nido

Over the past year, and despite the pandemic, the Puerto team has been getting ready to move the operation to El Nido, approximately 280 kilometres north of the current hangar in Puerto Princesa.

This move will see the team located much closer to the platform, which will reduce the flight time for SPEX passengers from 55 to 15 minutes. This will, in turn, reduce passenger risk exposure while at the same time reduce operating costs. El Nido is a particularly picturesque area of the Philippines with white sand beaches and limestone cliffs.

PHI has worked out of the El Nido airport on and off since 2013, and recent upgrades to the airport have made permanent operations more feasible. The airport runway was upgraded some years ago and more recently, airport lighting and IFR procedures have been introduced.

The team is now waiting on approval of these recent changes from the national aviation authority, which has been delayed due to COVID but is expected in the next month or so. Once signed off, PHI can move in straight away and begin operating.

El Nido, Palawan

Future Focus

With the COVID situation seeming to stabilize around the globe, the team is now focusing on a two-year contract extension, with the current contract due to end in August this year.

After 21 years of production, the Malampaya gas reservoirs are nearing the end of their lifespan and Shell has taken the decision to divest from the Malampaya project. They are currently working with the Philippine government to sell their 45% interest in the project.

While the name of the entity operating the field may change, the management team will remain the same, with plans to explore new reservoirs, extend the life of the platform and continue to meet the Philippines’ growing energy needs. This will hopefully result in PHI continuing to support the project for years to come.

For now, the PHI team is looking forward to moving into the new El Nido base and getting some time to enjoy the local surroundings.