Aussie firm to search for oil in Sulu Sea

The Department of Energy (DOE) is set to approve the grant of a service contract (SC) to a consortium led by Australian natural gas resource giant BHP Billiton Petroleum under the first Petroleum Contracting Round (PCR)-I, the country’s top energy official said yesterday.

Energy Secretary Vincent Perez said the consortium plans to develop two exploration blocks in the Sulu Sea.

"We are now working on the SC. We will soon come out with the contract," Perez said, noting that BHP Billiton was the only serious bidder for the PCR-I.

The DOE has embarked on an aggressive development of the country’s energy resources through improved contracting and bidding schemes and enhanced fiscal incentives to increase the country’s energy self-sufficiency by tapping indigenous reserves.

Last year, it launched the contracting round wherein 46 new exploration blocks near petroleum structures and vast frontier basins in Palawan, Sulu Sea and Reed Bank were auctioned.

Aside from PCR-I, the DOE also introduced the Geothermal Contracting Round (Geo 1) last March with 10 highly prospective geothermal areas located throughout the country offered for bidding.

Geo I could reportedly raise between $470 million to $940 million in new investments.

The Philippines is considered the world’s second largest geothermal producer with an installed generating capacity of 1,932 megawatts (MW), next only to the United States.

Perez said the Philippines has identified 35 geothermal resource areas with an estimated potential generating capacity of 4,137 MW. Based on the Philippine Energy Plan for 2004-2013, the DOE is targeting the additional installation of 1,200 MW power capacity in the next 10 years.

Among the promising geothermal fields, which could generate as much as 300-470 MW in additional capacity, are Manito-Bayabon and Rangas-Tanawon in Sorsogon; Biliran in Eastern Visayas; Amacan in North Davao; Dauin, Negros Occidental; Natib, Bataan; Mabini, Batangas; Montelago, Mindoro Oriental and Mt. Kabalian in Leyte.

Among the active geothermal power producers in the country at present are the state-owned PNOC-Energy Development Corp. (PNOC-EDC), Unocal subsidiary Philippine Geothermal Inc. (PGI), California Energy and Ormat Inc.