By Lenie Lectura- November 21, 2018
THE Department of Energy (DOE) will
launch on Thursday the next round of the energy-contracting exploration
program, in hopes of luring many downstream oil-industry players.
The Philippine Conventional Energy
Contracting Program (PCECP), according to Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi, is
meant to intensify the DOE’s thrust to develop the petroleum exploration
industry for global competitiveness.
“The DOE is aggressively pursuing
the implementation of the PCECP so the country could establish a strong
‘Explore, Explore, Explore’ program.
“We have been grossly trailing
behind our neighbors in terms of petroleum exploration and development activities.
It is high time that we step up. We need to attain energy security and
sustainability to minimize our vulnerability to global oil price shocks,” Cusi
said.
The DOE chief added that “harnessing
our indigenous energy resources would also go far in helping us meet the
country’s increasing energy demand as we continue to usher in economic
progress.”
Under the PCECP, there are two modes
of application potential investors may pursue.
First, interested parties may wish
to bid on the 14 Pre-Determined Areas identified by the DOE (one in Cagayan,
three in East Palawan, three in Sulu Sea, two in Agusan-Davao, one in Cotabato,
and four in West Luzon). The application period is 180 days, and will be
officially opened during the launch.
Alternatively, the applicants could
also nominate and publish other areas of interest. In this mode, applications
could be submitted at any time of the year, and would be subjected to a 60-day
challenge period.
All accepted applications shall be
evaluated by the DOE Centralized Review and Evaluation Committee based on the criteria
pursuant to Department Circular No. DC2017-12-0017.
Prior to the launch, the DOE
conducted several road shows to drum up awareness on the program, including an
international road show held in Singapore in August.
In October, President Duterte signed
the first service contract under his administration.
Service Contract No. 76 covering
Area 4 of Eastern Palawan was awarded to Israeli firm Ratio Petroleum Ltd.,
signaling the push to revive the country’s upstream petroleum industry.
There are currently 23 active
petroleum service contracts in the Philippines with the following developers:
Shell Philippines Exploration, Total E&P, PNOC-EC, Nido Petroleum,
Philodrill, PXP Energy and Galoc Production Company.
The largest and most successful
natural gas industrial project in Philippine history is the Malampaya Deep
Water Gas-to-Power Project.
However, experts have said the
Malampaya may run dry in a decade, increasing the pressure on the government to
start preparing for alternative energy sources.
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