PNOC, Petronas tie up for oil search in Mindoro

PNOC-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC) and PetroEnergy Resources Corp. signed recently an agreement with Petronas Carigali Overseas Sdn Bhd to jointly explore for oil and gas in offshore Mindoro.

Petronas Carigali Overseas is the overseas exploration and production arm of Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas), Malaysia’s national oil corporation. PNOC-EC is the oil and gas exploration arm of state-owned Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC).

The Mindoro exploration block is covered by geophysical survey and exploration contract (GSEC) 100 with the Department of Energy (DOE).

Following the signing of the agreement, PNOC-EC, PetroEnergy and Petronas Carigali Overseas will file for a new service contract (SC) with the DOE replacing GSEC 100, which will expire on Jan. 13, 2004.

The three oil exploration firms will commit to drill one exploratory well and an optional well in the contract area. The contract PNOC, Petronas commitment will also include geological and geophysical studies (G&G) and a possible seismic survey over the acreage.

The filing of a new service contract is in compliance with the DOE’s present guidelines for new contract applications. The proposed SC for offshore Mindoro will have a seven-year exploration period.

The work program proposed by the joint venture partners can be completed during the first two years of the SC, after which the consortium will decide on whether or not to proceed to the third and fourth year of the contract.

PNOC-EC president & chief executive officer Rufino Bomasang said this tieup will signify the foreign firms‚ confidence on Filipino companies.

"We are delighted to have Petronas in our exploration efforts once again. There is no better synergy than having our own ASEAN neighbor partnering with us for hopeful petroleum discovery. We see a strategic combination of the Petronas technical and financial resources with the local exploration experience of PNOC-EC being involved in oil and gas activities across the Philippines," Bomasang said.

Offshore Mindoro is PNOC-EC‚s most attractive exploration acreage in terms of petroleum potential.

It has the richest source of rocks in the country or even in the region and a well drilled by PNOC in 1994, Maniguin 2, is considered the most significant oil discovery outside of northwest Palawan. Offshore Mindoro is situated in the same petroleum province as northwest Palawan, host to the country’s commercially-producing oil and gas fields.