PNOC subsidiary to drill 3rd exploratory well in Mindanao

PNOC-Exploration Corp., a subsidiary of state-owned Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC), plans to drill a P220-million third exploratory well in the Cotabato basin in Mindanao, but PNOC-EC president Rufino Bomasang said the drilling will start only when peace and order in the area is restored.

"The drilling depends upon the peace and order condition in the area. This will happen if we get a green light from the military and the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front)," Bomasang said.

Bomasang said they expect to start the project soon since there are ongoing talks for a truce between government troops and MILF.

"I am confident that if this is resolved, we can go back there," he said, reiterating that the drilling might take place in the last quarter of this year.

The third well, Gansing I, is located in the Cotabato basin. The drilling project is covered by the Geophysical Survey and Exploration Contract (GSEC) No. 73.

Since 1999, PNOC-EC has already drilled two onshore wells in the area namely: Sultan-sa-Barongis (SSB) 1 and SSB-2.

Based on PNOC-EC’s record, an open-hole test conducted at SSB-1 yielded a stabilized natural gas flow rate of 186,000 standard cubic feet per day (SCFPD). SSB-2, on the other hand, also confirmed the presence of natural gas with a measured flow rate of about 270,000 SCFPD.

Bomasang explained that there is a need for further flow tests on both wells and additional drillings have to be conducted to determine the commerciality of the gas field.

He said they have to prove the presence of about 60 billion cubic feet of natural gas on the field, enough to support a 60-MW power plant.

PNOC-EC’s Gansing1 project is part of the 2001 oil and gas drilling projects lined up by the Department of Energy for this year.