Danessa Rivera (The Philippine Star)
- October 31, 2019 - 12:00am
MANILA,Philippines — The Department
of Energy (DOE) has opened its doors for applications to develop a nominated
exploration area in northeast Palawan.
The DOE-Energy Resource Development
Bureau (ERDB) has received counter bids for Nominated Area No. 4 in Northeast
Palawan under the Philippine Conventional Energy Contracting Program (PCECP).
“We actively welcome all PCECP
applications, as each one has the potential to bring us closer to maximize the
exploration, development, and utilization of our indigenous energy resources to
help us attain energy security and independence,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi
said.
Nominated Area No. 4 was applied for
by Repsol Exploracion S.A. (Repsol), and was the only company that submitted
the application requirements.
The DOE-ERDB conducted a technical,
legal, and financial “completeness check,” which Repsol passed.
Following the completeness check,
the ERDB and the technical working group—composed of the DOE’s Legal Services
and Financial Services—will further conduct substantive evaluation of Repsol’s
proposal within 15 working days.
To help attain energy security, as
well as cushion the country from the volatility of global oil price markets,
the DOE established the PCECP to help reinvigorate petroleum exploration and
development activities in the Philippines.
Under the PCECP, the DOE offered 14
pre-determined areas (PDAs), and the option for investors to propose their own
exploration area, making oil and gas exploration a dynamic investment prospect
for players in the energy sector.
The agency started accepting
nominations in February last year, while the first batch of PDAs was launched
in November 2018.
During the process, the DOE received
bids for only four out of 14 PDAs amid challenges in the country’s upstream
sector.
These are from Israel-based Ratio
Petroleum Ltd. for Area 3 in east Palawan; local firms Esmaulana iGlobal
Ventures Inc. and Sulu Sea Energy Resources Development Corp. for Area 6 in
Sulu Sea; Philodrill Corp. and PXP Energy Corp. for Area 7 in Sulu Sea and
Esmaulana Global Ventures Inc. in Area 10 in Agusan-Davao.
The agency also received nominations
for a prospect in east Palawan from Sulu Sea Energy Resources Development
Corp., in northwest Palawan from Troika Giant Power Corp., and in Ragay Gulf
from Superior (SG) Shipyard Inc.
The DOE will continue offering
oil and gas prospects under the PCECP to help reinvigorate the country’s oil
and gas exploration sector.
Presently, there are only 23 active
Petroleum Service Contracts (PSC) in the country.
Among all PSCs, the Malampaya deep
water gas-to-power project is the most successful. As the largest natural gas
industrial project in the Philippines, it recovered all costs in four years.
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