PXP Energy to continue focus on oil, gas projects

By Danessa Rivera (The Philippine Star) | Updated March 27, 2017 - 12:00am

http://www.philstar.com/business/2017/03/27/1684783/pxp-energy-continue-focus-oil-gas-projects

MANILA, Philippines - Even with the change in name, PXP Energy Corp. will continue to focus on existing oil and gas projects while scouting for renewable energy (RE) developments this year.

“We will still be focusing on our petroleum projects although we have looked at some RE projects that were offered to us in the past,” PXP Energy president Daniel Stephen Carlos told The STAR.

Among its projects near development phase is Service Contract (SC) 14 or the Galoc oil field, which it holds an indirect 2.27 percent interest through London-listed Forum Energy Limited.

A new well is expected to be drilled this week, Carlos said.

“If successful, we will proceed with Phase 3 development. (This would entail) drilling of new production wells in SC 141C Galoc Block but north of the currently producing Galoc Field,” he said.

Other partners in the Galoc consortium are Australian oil and gas company Nido Petroleum Limited (55.88 percent), Galoc Production Co. No. 2 Pte. Ltd. (26.84 percent), Oriental Petroleum & Minerals Corp. and Linapacan Oil Gas & Power Corp., (7.79 percent) Philodrill Corp. (7.79 percent) and Forum Energy Philippines Corp. (2.28 percent).

To partially support drilling activites, PXP Energy infused more capital in Forum Energy, Carlos said.

This was done by subscribing 39,350,920 new ordinary shares of Forum last week, which raised PXP Energy’s direct shareholding in Forum from 48.8 percent to 69.5 percent.

Meanwhile, Forum’s principal asset is a 70 percent interest in SC 72, an 8,800-square kilometer offshore petroleum licence situated west of Palawan Island in the West Philippine Sea.

The project is currently under moratorium due to territorial disputes with China.

“We are still waiting for DOE to lift the force majeure imposed on SC 72,” Carlos said.

Earlier, PXP Energy chairman Manuel Pangilinan expressed optimism that drilling works can proceed in those projects under moratorium by next year amid the Philippines’ strengthening relations with China.