THE value of the Philippines’ proven fossil energy reserves edged up in 2025, but the gain rests almost entirely on coal, even as natural gas and condensate stocks shrank.
Class A reserves of coal, oil, natural gas and condensate were valued at P295.04 billion in 2025, up 3.2 percent from P285.80 billion in 2024. Class A reserves are commercially recoverable resources confirmed to be economically viable through a defined development project or operation, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.
Coal dominates
Coal accounted for P253.31 billion of the total, or about 86 percent, after rising 2.3 percent from P247.69 billion a year earlier. Its physical stock grew faster than its value: reserves rose 15.1 percent to 445.73 million metric tons from 387.12 million, driven by new discoveries. Extraction also climbed 22.8 percent to 21.68 million metric tons from 17.66 million, the report said.
Gas and condensate shrink
Natural gas tells a more worrying story. Class A reserves fell 15.9 percent to 195.00 billion standard cubic feet from 232.00 billion, while extraction dropped 9.6 percent to 63.56 billion cubic feet. Even so, the value of gas reserves jumped 38.5 percent to P27.04 billion from P19.53 billion, meaning the value per unit of remaining gas rose sharply even as the volume shrank.
Condensate declined on both counts. Reserves fell 16.7 percent to 5.00 million barrels from 6.00 million, and extraction eased 8.4 percent to 1.59 million barrels. Its value dropped 25.4 percent to P12.89 billion from P17.29 billion.
Oil remains marginal
Oil reserves are small by comparison. They rose 4.6 percent to 434,000 barrels from 415,000 on upward reappraisals, while extraction fell 10.9 percent to 399,010 barrels. Valuation increased 38.5 percent to P1.80 billion from P1.30 billion, but oil is a sliver of the total.
The four resources generated a combined resource rent of P42.92 billion in 2025, equal to 0.15 percent of gross domestic product. That is a modest contribution to an economy that, as recent central bank decisions show, is grappling with high energy prices and inflationary pressure.
Why it matters
The figures underline how reliant the country’s domestic reserves are on coal at a time when gas supplies are thinning. Extraction of gas and condensate is outpacing the replacement of reserves, and without new discoveries, the country’s limited indigenous gas and oil base will keep shrinking, leaving the country more exposed to imported fuel and a weak peso. / MVG