DOE sets new contracting round before yearend

To further promote the exploration of new energy sources, the Department of Energy (DOE) will push through with the fourth Philippine Energy Contracting Round (PECR) before the end of this year. 

Energy Secretary Angelo T. Reyes said there is a need to hold the PECR this year to help facilitate the development of indigenous sources of power in the country.

“We are now moving in that direction and my instruction is to have these people who are wanting to do exploration and development work to present to us,” the energy official said. 

According to Reyes, it is important to look into the development of indigenous sources of energy to lessen the country’s dependence on imported crude oil. 

He said they are looking at the first three weeks of December for holding the PECR. “The sooner, the better. If we have some more applications before Christmas we will try to hold it,” he added. 

Reyes said they have been starting to entertain a number of applications for this particular contracting round. 

In 2006, the DOE offered nine petroleum contract areas covering 7,263,900 hectares in shallow to deep waters within the prospective basins of East Palawan and Mindoro-Cuyo as well as in the promising basins of Cagayan, Central Luzon , Visayas and Agusan-Davao. 

Government was targeting to generate more than $200 million worth of investments in last year’s PECR. 

Aside from oil and gas prospects, 14 coal prospects with a combined estimated reserves of 421 million metric tons found in Quezon, Negros Occidental, Cebu, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Agusan del Sur, Davao Oriental and Zamboanga Sibugay were also offered for bidding. 

Geothermal energy equivalent to about 100 megawatts of power generation in the areas of Batangas, Biliran and Compostela Valley were offered to prospective investors. 

The DOE launched in 2004 the contracting round for oil, coal, geothermal exploration areas to reduce the country’s dependence on imported fuel.