Published November 25, 2018, 10:00
PM By Myrna
M.Velasco
The propounded joint exploration
deal for petroleum resources within the “conflict areas” in the West Philippine
Sea will not be limited to Chinese investors, but is also applicable to other
Southeast Asian neighbors and other foreign firms, the Department of Energy
(DOE) assured.
“For the West Philippine Sea,
because this is not something as a government-to-government deal, it is the
private investors that are proposing, so this could be a Chinese national or
other foreign nationalities,” Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said.
He explained that the joint
exploration deal being firmed up with China just delves with prospective
business collaboration that the Philippines will have with Beijing when it
comes to search for oil and gas resources in the so-called conflict areas in
the West Philippine Sea or South China Sea.
“The joint cooperation is only
between Philippines and China on how to develop ways – how we can work together
to explore the resources in the area… and we don’t have that yet with other
nationalities,” the energy chief said.
Cusi added other than China, “we’re
talking with our neighbors because there are also certain overlapping areas
like Vietnam and the Philippines, but we are talking to them separately.”
The policy for both the non-disputed
areas, such as those covered by the 14 pre-determined areas under the
Philippine Conventional Energy Contracting Program (PCECP); and that of the
“disputed territories” will be the same when it comes to entry of interested
foreign investors.
Cusi averred “in the pre-determined
areas, we’re not limiting it to nationalities but it depends on the investors,
so it’s the same in West Philippine Sea,” the area tagged to have the plinth of
the disputed territories.
Energy Undersecretary Donato D.
Marcos indicated that a number of investors already submitted proposals to
explore in the diplomatically encumbered West Philippine Sea.
But he qualified these applications
for oil exploration cannot be acted upon until such time that the country can
institutionalize an acceptable joint framework with China – and the target for
that is next year.
“Actually, there are some investors
who nominated for blocks within the West Philippine Sea, but we have not acted
upon these. We need first the result of the discussion between the Department
of Foreign Affairs, DOE and other collaboration agencies with that of China,”
Marcos stressed.
He said there are now less than 10 nominations in the “conflict areas,” “but we will not grant them yet, we’re still not looking in that direction.”
Most of the applications, he emphasized, are for
petroleum blocks proximate to the Reed Bank and those straddling south Palawan
basin.
He said there are now less than 10 nominations in the “conflict areas,” “but we will not grant them yet, we’re still not looking in that direction.”
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