Typhoon halts production at Galoc oil well

MANILA, Philippines - Galoc Production Co. (GPC) said it has to temporarily shut down works on its offshore Palawan drilling area due to the impact of Typhoon “Juan.”

In a statement yesterday, GPC said production from the Galoc oil field has been halted as Rubicon Offshore International, the owner and operator of the floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel conducted an emergency disconnection from the mooring and riser system during the rough weather.

But GPC said the mobilization of a support vessel and equipment is underway, and the vessel is expected to arrive in the field next week.

“Its first task will be to ascertain what damage has occured to the mooring and riser system then undertake repairs that may be necessary, followed by assisting with reconnection of the mooring and riser system to the FPSO,” it said.

The company said it may take several weeks to recommence production.

GPC said the 2010 production target of 2.24 million barrels of crude oil per day has already been exceeded, with approximately 2.4 million barrels produced to date.

It said there are currently 248,000 barrels of crude oil in the FPSO tanks, with the next offload scheduled for mid-November.

The Galoc oil field in northwest Palawan has produced over 5.8 million barrels of oil to date, according to a consortium member Nido Petroleum Ltd.

Nido disclosed to the Australian Stock Exchange that the Galoc oil field continued to produce Nido oil at an average rate of about 8,000 barrels of oil per day for the past three months.

“For the current year, seven cargoes have been lifted from the FPSO vessel with the last lifting occurring on Sept. 20,” Nido said.

Nido owns a 22.28-percent stake in Service Contract 14C, which covers the Galoc oil field.

“The next lifting is scheduled within the first half of November,” Nido said.

The government has earned P490 million as of June this year from its share in the Galoc oil field, which started production in October 2008. The Galoc oil field is estimated to contain 10 million barrels of oil.

GPC holds a controlling 58.29 percent of SC 14C. It is jointly owned by the Vitol Group and Otto Energy Ltd.

Other stakeholders in SC 14C Oriental Petroleum & Minerals Corp., and Linapacan Oil Gas & Power Corp. with 7.57 percent; Philodrill Corp. with 7.03 percent; Forum Energy Corp. with 2.27 percent; Alcorn Gold, 1.53 percent; and PetroEnergy, 1.03 percent.