By
Lenie Lectura - October 23, 2018
THE Department of
Energy (DOE) is poised to cancel the awarding of a petroleum service contract
(PSC) to local firm Colossal Petroleum Corp., an affiliate of listed Coal Asia
Holdings Inc., if it will not push through with the exploration.
“We warned them that if
they will not be supportive, we will be obliged not to push through with the
awarding. That should be very clear,” Energy Undersecretary Donato Marcos said.
Marcos said the DOE
will write to Colossal soon. “If they do not comply soon, their proposal may be
disqualified.”
Colossal was earlier
qualified to explore Area 5, a 576,000-hectare block in waters east of
Palawan, and Area 7, a 468,000-hectare block within the disputed Reed
Bank.
Energy Secretary
Alfonso G. Cusi said Colossal is not included to follow what Ratio
Petroleum Ltd. of Israel did. Ratio was recently awarded a PSC for Area 4 (East
Palawan Basin) of the Fifth Philippine Energy Contracting Round (PECR5).
“Ratio agreed it will
pursue it whatever ruling—favorable or not—the Supreme Court will issue
regarding income-tax interpretation. The problem is Colossal is not
in agreement to do what Ratio did. If [Colossal] will not pursue it then
we don’t have a choice but to terminate it,” Cusi said.
The SC case Cusi was
referring to pertains to the petition for certiorari filed by the Malampaya
consortium, which is opposed to the Commission on Audit ruling.
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