Petronas to explore oil reserves in Mindoro
Business World, Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Malaysian firm Petronas yesterday inked service contract no. 47 with the Department of Energy (DoE) and the Philippine National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC) to explore petroleum reserves in offshore Mindoro.
The firm, through its subsidiary Petronas Carigali Overseas Sdn. Bhd., will invest some $12.5 million for the project within seven years.
With 14,667 square kilometers, the block covers the offshore area south of Mindoro island and west of Panay island.
"This new agreement has long been in the waiting. Now that the road has been paved clear, we look forward to the drilling of one of the most attractive exploration areas in the country," Energy Secretary Vincent S. Perez, Jr. said.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo welcomes Tan Sri Dato Sri Mohd Hassan bin Marican, Petronas president and chief executive officer, to the Malacañang presidential palace, January 10.
This is the third petroleum service contact signed in one month after the Supreme Court last year declared the Philippine Mining Act constitutional, Mr. Perez said.
Under the agreement, Petronas and PNOC-EC will commit to drill one exploratory well in the area with an option to either drill another one or acquire new seismic data. The contract commitment will also include geological and geophysical studies and a possible seismic survey.
The work program will be completed in the first two years, after which the contractors can decide whether to proceed with the subsequent phases of the exploration period.
Petronas has an 80% participating interest, while PNOC-EC holds the remaining 20%.
The contract also stated that the seven-year term is extendible for three years upon justification, while the 25-year development and production period is renewable for a series of five-year periods, but shall not exceed a total of 15 years.
Service contract no. 47, which is the former geophysical survey and exploration contract no. 100 (GSEC 100), is one of the most attractive exploration acreage, situated in the same geologic region as northwest Palawan, the Energy department said.
As operator of the former GSEC 100 license, DoE said PNOC-EC already identified two drillable prospects -- the Tablas prospect, situated between the island of Tablas and Mindoro and the Cherry prospect, located some 12 kilometers southeast of Maniguin-2 well.
High-quality petroleum source rocks, with organic richness and excellent generative capability have been penetrated in the Maniguin-2 well, which flowed more than 300 barrels of oil per day during open hole tests, the Energy department said.
Along the Tablas strait, gas seepage, oil slick on the water surface, and oil recovered from seabed cores all support the observation that an active petroleum system exists in the area, it added.
Mr. Perez said Petronas had been involved in previous efforts in the Cotabato Basin in Mindanao in 1995.
The Energy department has awarded service contract no. 45 to China's South Sea Petroleum Holdings Limited Service to explore oil and gas in the Agusan-Davao Basin, and service contract no. 46 to Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd. for petroleum exploration over the Ta§on strait in Negros Occidental.
Two other petroleum service contracts were awarded last year to Singapore-based firm Gas to Grid Pte. Ltd. and British firm Premier Oil Philippines B. V. to explore oil and gas in the central Cebu area and over the Ragay Gulf in the Bicol region and parts of Bondoc Peninsula in Quezon, respectively. -- Bernardette S. Sto. Domingo
Malaysian firm Petronas yesterday inked service contract no. 47 with the Department of Energy (DoE) and the Philippine National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC) to explore petroleum reserves in offshore Mindoro.
The firm, through its subsidiary Petronas Carigali Overseas Sdn. Bhd., will invest some $12.5 million for the project within seven years.
With 14,667 square kilometers, the block covers the offshore area south of Mindoro island and west of Panay island.
"This new agreement has long been in the waiting. Now that the road has been paved clear, we look forward to the drilling of one of the most attractive exploration areas in the country," Energy Secretary Vincent S. Perez, Jr. said.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo welcomes Tan Sri Dato Sri Mohd Hassan bin Marican, Petronas president and chief executive officer, to the Malacañang presidential palace, January 10.
This is the third petroleum service contact signed in one month after the Supreme Court last year declared the Philippine Mining Act constitutional, Mr. Perez said.
Under the agreement, Petronas and PNOC-EC will commit to drill one exploratory well in the area with an option to either drill another one or acquire new seismic data. The contract commitment will also include geological and geophysical studies and a possible seismic survey.
The work program will be completed in the first two years, after which the contractors can decide whether to proceed with the subsequent phases of the exploration period.
Petronas has an 80% participating interest, while PNOC-EC holds the remaining 20%.
The contract also stated that the seven-year term is extendible for three years upon justification, while the 25-year development and production period is renewable for a series of five-year periods, but shall not exceed a total of 15 years.
Service contract no. 47, which is the former geophysical survey and exploration contract no. 100 (GSEC 100), is one of the most attractive exploration acreage, situated in the same geologic region as northwest Palawan, the Energy department said.
As operator of the former GSEC 100 license, DoE said PNOC-EC already identified two drillable prospects -- the Tablas prospect, situated between the island of Tablas and Mindoro and the Cherry prospect, located some 12 kilometers southeast of Maniguin-2 well.
High-quality petroleum source rocks, with organic richness and excellent generative capability have been penetrated in the Maniguin-2 well, which flowed more than 300 barrels of oil per day during open hole tests, the Energy department said.
Along the Tablas strait, gas seepage, oil slick on the water surface, and oil recovered from seabed cores all support the observation that an active petroleum system exists in the area, it added.
Mr. Perez said Petronas had been involved in previous efforts in the Cotabato Basin in Mindanao in 1995.
The Energy department has awarded service contract no. 45 to China's South Sea Petroleum Holdings Limited Service to explore oil and gas in the Agusan-Davao Basin, and service contract no. 46 to Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd. for petroleum exploration over the Ta§on strait in Negros Occidental.
Two other petroleum service contracts were awarded last year to Singapore-based firm Gas to Grid Pte. Ltd. and British firm Premier Oil Philippines B. V. to explore oil and gas in the central Cebu area and over the Ragay Gulf in the Bicol region and parts of Bondoc Peninsula in Quezon, respectively. -- Bernardette S. Sto. Domingo
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