PNOC-EC set to award 2 exploration contracts

PNOC-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC), the oil and gas exploration arm of state-owned Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC), is finalizing the award of two exploration contracts for West Balabac in Southwest Palawan.

Industry sources said PNOC-EC is currently negotiating with two foreign international oil and gas exploration firms.

The contract will involve farm-in agreements that needs prior approval from the PNOC-EC board.

“The two firms are serious investors and hopefully they can seal a deal with PNOC-EC soon. The two firms are new investors. They are not existing players in the upstream industry,” the source said.

PNOC-EC is undertaking a “large seismic program” to explore for oil and gas in the West Balabac area.

The company is coming up with a proposed seismic program, scheduled to commence within this year, to determine the oil and gas reserves in the area.

PNOC-EC is also planing to undertake “seismic interpretation and prospect generation, evaluating plays associated with discoveries in deepwater Sabah.”

It also currently scouting for a joint venture partner to pursue its exploration program in Service Contract (SC) 59, which covers 14,760 square kilometers and located off the southwestern tip of Palawan, north of the Malaysian border.

The Energy Department awarded SC 59 on Jan. 13, 2006 to PNOC-EC, which holds 100-percent interest in the project.

Based on the company’s initial data, an active petroleum system existing in offshore Malaysia and Brunei continues northward into the Western Balabac area.

Aside from SC 59, PNOC-EC holds interests in SC 43 ( Ragay Gulf), SC 47 (Offshore Mindoro), SC 57 (Calamian), SC 58 (West Calamian) and SC 63 (East Sabina).