Hampered movement of workers and supplies due to the COVID-19 pandemic has compounded the Philippines’ dire need for new sources of natural gas as output from its only source, the Malampaya project, declines. In their latest commentary on the subject, Fitch Solutions Macro Research noted a lack of discoveries and suspended drilling operations “in the potentially resource-rich South China Sea” due to unresolved maritime disputes as well as slow progress of joint exploration negotiations with China.
