MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Energy (DOE) awarded yesterday 11 coal operating contracts (COC) worth a combined P580 million.
Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes said the contracts stemmed from the successful bid proposals during the latest Philippine Energy Contracting Round for Coal (PECR-Coal) in April this year.
The contracting round provides an opportunity for investments through a public bidding for prospective contractors.
The 11 winning bidders are Oriental Energy & Power Generation Corp., Titan Exploration & Development Corp., MS-SK Coal Corp., 3 Kings Sunrise Mining Corp., Lebach Mining Corp., Eoil and Gas Co. Inc. and ASK Mining & Exploration Corp.
Reyes said the fresh investments committed for the projects will be realized during a two-year exploration period.
Oriental Energy a unit of listed mining from Oriental Peninsula Resources Group, bagged three contract areas in Bolijoon, Cebu; Polillo Island, Quezon and Kitcharao, Surigao del Sur which will require P215 million in investments.
Titan Exploration and Development Corp. of the Tiu family was awarded with two contracts in Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay and Manay, Davao Oriental (Area 17). For the two coal development contracts, Titan is expected to invest P134 million over a two-year period.
MSK-SK Coal Corp., meanwhile, has been granted contracts for Sen. Ninoy Aquino and Bagumbayan, both in Sultan Kudarat with a total development cost of P34 million.
3 Kings Sunrise Mining Corp., run by Ramon Zagala, won the Carmen, Cebu contract with total financial commitment of P15.4 million.
Eoil and Gas Co. Inc., on the other hand, will explore Bunawan, Agusan del Sur with an initial investment of P115.6 million.
Meanwhile, Lebach Mining Corp., an affiliate of Infanta Mineral and Industrial Corp., will explore an area in Gubat, Sorsogon and is expected to invest P34.3 million.
ASK Mining and Exploration Corp., managed by businessman Walden Carbonell, will pour in P30.06 million worth of investment for the development of Cagwait-Marihatag, Surigao del Sur.
PECR-Coal 2009 was launched last April 14 to promote and offer prospective coal areas to both local and private investors for coal exploration, development and production.
About 30 areas were bid out, situated mostly within the major coal basins of the Philippines, majority of which were nominated by the proponents while the rest are DOE-offered areas.
Around 25 proposals were received from 14 participating companies, with the 11 contracts initially awarded.