That year a Shell-Texaco venture will begin producing natural gas from the 3-km-by-15-km Malampaya field 750 to 1, 150 meters below sea level.

CNN: Up from the Ocean

V. acquired Malampaya from Occidental Petroleum Philippines, a unit of the U.S. company, in 1990, a year after Occidental discovered gas at Camago, south of Malampaya.

CNN: Up from the Ocean

To extract Malampaya's gas, Shell will put down nine undersea wells - five in 2002 and four in 2009 - plus a production platform being built in Singapore and Subic.

CNN: Up from the Ocean