Philex Petroleum Corp Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan
MANILA - Philex Petroleum Corp's unit is set to drill two exploration wells in Recto Bank without the Chinese or any partner amid rising tensions between Manila and Beijing.
During the company's annual stockholders meeting, Philex Petroleum chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said they have decided to push through with their exploration in the gas-rich Service Contract (SC) 72 in off-shore Palawan. SC 72 operated by Forum Energy Plc, which is 64.45-percent owned by Philex Petroleum.
"In the board meeting today, the board decided to start preparing for a possible drilling program of two wells, which was the original plan one or two years ago. We were told that takes about 18 months to prepare for that so the earliest we could do the actual drilling is sometime in the first quarter of 2016," Pangilinan said.
"So we would seek to do that subject to approvals of the government and of course I dont have any idea how China would react to such drilling program," he added.
Forum had been in talks with China National Offshore Oil Co. Ltd. (CNOOC) for a possible joint exploration of SC72 but the ongoing territorial dispute in West Philippine Sea has been a major hindrance for any developments in the area.
"There have been a number of meetings with CNOOC in the early part of last year and nothing has happened since then. And so we're trying to revive our discussions with them. So I dont know," Pangilinan said.
Exploring for new gas fields is increasingly becoming urgent as the 25-year shelf life of Malampaya, the Philippines' first gas field, is already running out as it is projected to last up to 2024.
Malampaya supplies 40 percent of Luzon's electricity requirements through three power plants in Batangas.
It is a race against time and Philex is aware of that but they are also aware of the risks that come with China's territorial row with its neighbors.
The Sampaguita field, which is covered by Service Contract 72 in the Recto Bank, is estimated to have gross reserves of over 11 trillion cubic feet of gas, an independent study commissioned by Forum Energy revealed.
The volume dwarfs the Malampaya natural gas field's reserves, which is placed at 2.7 trillion cubic feet and could potentially supply a hundred years' worth of gas to the Philippines.
During the company's annual stockholders meeting, Philex Petroleum chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said they have decided to push through with their exploration in the gas-rich Service Contract (SC) 72 in off-shore Palawan. SC 72 operated by Forum Energy Plc, which is 64.45-percent owned by Philex Petroleum.
"In the board meeting today, the board decided to start preparing for a possible drilling program of two wells, which was the original plan one or two years ago. We were told that takes about 18 months to prepare for that so the earliest we could do the actual drilling is sometime in the first quarter of 2016," Pangilinan said.
"So we would seek to do that subject to approvals of the government and of course I dont have any idea how China would react to such drilling program," he added.
Forum had been in talks with China National Offshore Oil Co. Ltd. (CNOOC) for a possible joint exploration of SC72 but the ongoing territorial dispute in West Philippine Sea has been a major hindrance for any developments in the area.
"There have been a number of meetings with CNOOC in the early part of last year and nothing has happened since then. And so we're trying to revive our discussions with them. So I dont know," Pangilinan said.
Exploring for new gas fields is increasingly becoming urgent as the 25-year shelf life of Malampaya, the Philippines' first gas field, is already running out as it is projected to last up to 2024.
Malampaya supplies 40 percent of Luzon's electricity requirements through three power plants in Batangas.
It is a race against time and Philex is aware of that but they are also aware of the risks that come with China's territorial row with its neighbors.
The Sampaguita field, which is covered by Service Contract 72 in the Recto Bank, is estimated to have gross reserves of over 11 trillion cubic feet of gas, an independent study commissioned by Forum Energy revealed.
The volume dwarfs the Malampaya natural gas field's reserves, which is placed at 2.7 trillion cubic feet and could potentially supply a hundred years' worth of gas to the Philippines.
Electronic News And Music/Lycris is the online news/music portal of Worldwide, which like Philex Petroleum, is chaired by Manuel V. Pangilinan.
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