Matahio x Ophiolite Energy: A New Frontier in Progressive Energy

When people talk about hydrogen, the conversation often turns quickly to cost, infrastructure and scale.

For all its promise as a cleaner fuel, most hydrogen today still needs to be manufactured using natural gas, coal or renewable electricity. That has made hydrogen an important part of the energy transition conversation, but one that continues to face practical questions around economics, infrastructure and commercial viability.

Natural hydrogen offers a different possibility.

Generated through geological processes underground, natural hydrogen could one day become a low-carbon, low-cost primary energy source. That possibility is now being explored by Matahio Energy Philippines through Service Contract 90, or SC 90, in onshore Leyte - an early but potentially important step in the search for commercially viable natural hydrogen.

For Wai-Lid Wong, CEO of Matahio Energy, SC 90 reflects the company’s strategy of taking thoughtful steps into low-carbon, and what better early steps than those that allow it to directly apply proven oil and gas capabilities to new frontier possibilities.

“Progressive energy for Matahio, in the low carbon space, looks to capitalise on a firm base that has been built upon our core oil and gas upstream industry learnings,” says Wai-Lid. “It is about taking the best of that capability - subsurface knowledge, project management, operating discipline, safety standards and stakeholder engagement - and applying it to opportunities that can help shape a more sustainable energy future.”

For Ophiolite Energy, Matahio’s partner in SC 90, Leyte represents a compelling starting point.

“Natural hydrogen is one of the few opportunities where the energy transition can borrow directly from proven upstream capability, rather than having to reinvent everything from scratch,” says Oliver Oxenbridge, Executive Director of Ophiolite Energy. “If hydrogen can be generated naturally or stimulated subsurface in real time, at low cost and close to demand centres, it has the potential to move from being an expensive manufactured energy carrier to a genuine primary energy source.”

Ophiolite’s focus is on serpentinization, a geological process where water reacts with iron-rich ultramafic rocks to produce hydrogen. Leyte brings together what Oliver describes as a “Goldilocks” combination: ophiolite formations at relatively shallow depths, high geothermal gradients, and sedimentary sections that could provide trapping and sealing potential.

“Leyte brings together the right rocks, the right thermal conditions and the potential for trapping and sealing,” says Oliver. “It also sits in a country that has shown real leadership in recognising natural hydrogen as part of its future energy opportunity.”

That leadership has been driven in large part by the Philippines Department of Energy [DOE], which has been proactive in opening the natural hydrogen space through its bid round process and evolving regulatory framework. In doing so, the DOE has helped position the Philippines as an early mover in an emerging global energy opportunity.

The Philippines has growing demand for indigenous, reliable and lower-carbon energy. Leyte is home to operational geothermal plants and nearby power transmission infrastructure, creating potential pathways for future hydrogen-to-power generation. Leyte’s proximity to large demand centres for hydrogen related products also offers the potential for regional commercialisation.

Globally, natural hydrogen is still in its early stages. The science is understood, but the technical and commercial playbooks are still being written.

“We are probably where oil and gas exploration was many decades ago,” says Oliver. “The ingredients are understood, but the technical and commercial playbooks are still being written.”

That is why the partnership between Matahio and Ophiolite matters.

Ophiolite brings specialist natural hydrogen capabilities, technical and commercial experience, and subsurface strategy around ultramafic systems. Matahio brings established regional operating capability, Philippines experience, stakeholder relationships, and practical upstream execution.

“This is not about simply repeating the old model,” says Oliver. “It is about using the best parts of existing upstream capability and engagement processes to build something new.”

Both companies are also aligned in how they think about responsibility.

SC 90 is still an early-stage opportunity. The work ahead will require careful technical studies, environmental and social planning, and engagement with government, local communities, geothermal operators, businesses and other stakeholders

“Responsible exploration starts with being clear about what is known, what is not yet known, and what activities are actually being proposed,” says Oliver. “The long-term prize only matters if the early-stage work is done properly.”

For Matahio, that approach reflects the company’s broader philosophy of building through partnership, local understanding, and long-term trust.

“In frontier energy, mindset matters enormously,” says Wai-Lid. “You need ambition, but also discipline. You need creativity, but also grounded execution. With Ophiolite, we see a partner that shares that balance.”

If commercially developed, natural hydrogen could support power, refining, steel, ammonia, methanol and other hard-to-electrify sectors. But for Matahio and Ophiolite, the bigger picture is not only about the resource. It is also about how that resource is developed.

“The exciting outcome would be for SC 90 to represent more than a successful exploration project,” says Oliver. “It could become an example of how the Philippines can use its own geology, talent and regulatory leadership to help shape a new global energy industry.” For Wai-Lid, this is what makes the project meaningful for Matahio.

“The promise of natural hydrogen is exciting, but the real test is how we develop it,” he says. “If we can combine rigorous science, practical execution and genuine partnership, Leyte has the potential to contribute to domestic energy security, regional opportunity and a new model for progressive energy development. And in the same vein – as we have done in other jurisdictions – attract international investment and technical expertise into the Philippines to accelerate development”

For now, SC 90 is at the beginning of that journey.

But it begins with a strong foundation: the right geology, a proactive Department of Energy, specialist technical expertise, local operating experience and a partnership grounded in shared values.

In a world searching for cleaner, more reliable and more practical energy solutions, that combination may be exactly what progressive energy looks like.