THE valuation of Philippine coal and oil reserves rose sharply in 2022, while the value of gas dwindled and estimated volumes of easily recoverable resources fell, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
The 2022 estimate for coal, oil, gas and condensate resources was P594.22 billion, the PSA said, more than double the P242.61 billion recorded for 2021.
The PSA reported on Thursday that class A coal reserves — deposits that are commercially recoverable — amounted to P529.66 billion last year, against the 2021 valuation of P181.92 billion.
Class A oil reserves’ valuation rose 35.4% to P19.07 billion, it added.
Natural gas reserves amounted to P22.67 billion, down 12.9%.
Meanwhile, condensate reserve valuations rose 10.8% to P22.81 billion in 2022, it said.
“The total resource rent of the four non-renewable energy resources contributed 0.44% to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Philippines in 2022, amounting to P96.42 billion,” the PSA said.
The PSA defines resource rent as “the surplus value accruing to the extractor or user of an asset calculated after all costs and normal returns have been taken into account.” This value can be taken to be the return attributable to the asset itself, the PSA said.
By volume, class A coal reserves in 2022 totaled 349.61 million metric tons (MT), down 4.4%.
Coal production, however, increased 12.2% to 16.11 million MT.
In 2022, oil reserves amounted to 30.91 million barrels of oil, down 1.8%.
“Similarly, natural gas reserves went down to 100.21 billion standard cubic feet of gas (scf) in 2022, a decline of 52.8%,” the PSA said.
Condensate reserves fell 28.7% to 6.71 million barrels in 2022. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
