Danessa Rivera (The Philippine Star) - March 29, 2021 - 12:00am
https://www.philstar.com/business/2021/03/29/2087625/doe-mulls-force-majeure-west-palawan-sc-55
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Energy (DOE) is evaluating a request to place Service Contract (SC) 55 offshore west Palawan under force majeure due to the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the upstream industry.
The SC 55 consortium had filed a request with the DOE to declare a one-year force majeure on the said prospect in September last year.
In a recent filing, ACE Enexor Inc.—the listed oil and gas exploration and production unit of the Ayala Group—said the consortium made the request “in view of the far-reaching adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the induced low oil price on the global upstream petroleum industry.”
Palawan55 Exploration & Production Corp., SC 55’s operator with a 75 percent interest, is 75 percent owned by ACE Enexor and 25 percent owned by AC Energy Corp.
DOE assistant secretary Leonido Pulido said officials are close to completing evaluation process.
While awaiting the DOE’s decision, well planning and drilling preparations for SC 55 are ongoing.
ACE Enexor chairman Eric Francia earlier said the consortium was on track to commence drilling of an appraisal well in the first half of 2022, with targets to firm up its partner and finalize drilling plans within first half of this year.
Last year, Palawan55 made the commitment to drill one exploratory well within the first two years after the DOE confirmed SC 55’s entry into the appraisal period.
In April last year, the DOE confirmed that the “Hawkeye-1 well did encounter a significant volume of movable natural gas and is deemed to be a non-associated gas discovery under Section 13.02 of SC 55. Non-associated gas discovery means the reservoir contains only natural gas and no oil.
Three months later, the SC 55 consortium submitted to the DOE its five-year work program and budget for the appraisal period of $1.7 million.
The work program consists of a firm commitment in the first two years and a contingent commitment covering the latter three years.
The firm commitment consists of geological and geophysical studies and drilling of a well within the next two years.
SC 55 was estimated to have some 2.2 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to the DOE.
In particular, the Hawkeye well was believed to have an estimated 480 million barrels of oil identified on 2D seismic originally acquired by Otto in 2007 and further defined with the 600-km 3D seismic acquisition in late 2009.
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