India, Jan. 20 -- Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr announced the discovery of a new natural gas deposit near an existing gas field in waters facing the disputed South China Sea, which could shield his country from a potential power crisis. The discovery of the gas reservoir northwest off Palawan province was "significant" and could eventually supply power to more than 5.7 million households annually, Marcos said Monday.

The undersea reservoir is estimated to contain about 98 billion cubic feet (2.7 billion cubic metres) of gas. Initial tests showed 60 million cubic feet (1.6 million cubic metres) of gas could be extracted each day from the well, Marcos said, without providing other details, including when commercial production co...