Danessa
Rivera (The Philippine Star) - September 5, 2019 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines —
The Department of Energy (DOE) has cleared Phinma Petroleum and Geothermal Inc.
(PPGI) to exit from Service Contract (SC) 69 in Eastern Visayas following
strong opposition to conduct petroleum exploration activities in the area.
PPGI, which will
be renamed to ACE Enexor Inc. after it was acquired by AC Energy Inc.,
disclosed that it received the DOE notice approving its relinquishment of SC 69
in the Camotes Sea.
Its withdrawal from the
project is pending settlement of all remaining financial obligations, which the
company has previously earmarked in its 2019 budget.
In June last year, the
SC 69 consortium—composed of PPGI and Frontier Gasfields Pty. Ltd.—informed the
DOE of its plan to pull out from the exploration block amid strong opposition
from various stakeholders, including several local government units (LGUs) and
non-government organizations (NGOs).
Opposition stemmed from
the issuance of local ordinances and resolutions to the project.
PPGI, the operator of the project, earlier said this makes the conduct of
petroleum exploration business in the area very challenging, if not impossible.
In the same year, PPGI
also decided to give up its interest in SC 51 in northern Leyte, where it
estimated to recognize a loss of P32.7 million for the write off of its share
in the expenditures incurred under SC 51.
After acquiring the
energy companies of the Phinma group, AC Energy said it would continue to
develop its remaining oil and gas assets, namely SC 6 and SC 55.
Located in northwest
Palawan, SC 6 is divided into two blocks where ACE Enexor owns a 7.78 percent
interest in Block A and 2.475 percent carried interest in Block B.
Meanwhile, the company
is the operator of SC 55, a prospect in west Palawan.
The SC 55 consortium
entered sub-phase 5 starting Aug. 26, where it will be drilling one ultra
deepwater well at the cost of at least $3 million.
The consortium has
committed to drill one ultra deepwater (water depth beyond 1,500 meters) well
in the second quarter of 2020.
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