Big names in oil exploration flock to Phl

MANILA, Philippines - Local and foreign investors are competing to snag new service contracts for coal and petroleum projects from the Philippines despite a heavy territorial dispute with China.

The Department of Energy (DOE) is already evaluating pre-qualification documents submitted by private and state-run firms prior to the actual bidding that will start this month.

“For petroleum Philippine Energy Contracting Round (PECR), 40 companies submitted pre-qualification documents,” DOE undersecretary Jose M. Layug Jr. announced yesterday.

As of 12 noon of Feb. 29, the DOE said, it received 36 pre-qualification documents that include the company’s profile and bylaws. The deadline was 5 p.m. of that same day.

Last July, the DOE launched PECR 4, offering 15 new oil and gas exploration areas nationwide that will require around $7.5 billion in investments.

Layug said the projects, if proven commercially viable, will provide a long-term solution to escalating oil prices.

The PECR 4, the biggest offering of the country so far, comprises three onshore and 12 offshore blocks with a total area of more than 10 million hectares mostly located in northwest Palawan and east Palawan that are in the resource-rich West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) and Sulu Sea basins.

Firms that submitted pre-qualification documents include local firms Petroenergy Resources Corp., Nido Petroleum Philippines Pty., Ltd., state-led Philippine National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC) and Pangilinan-led Philex Petroleum Corp. and foreign companies Total E&P Asia Pacific Pte., Ltd., CalEnergy Resources, Ltd., Clean Rock Renewable Energy Resources, Esso Exploration International, Ltd. and Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co.

Interest is high despite protests from the Chinese embassy against the Philippines’ invitation to private firms.

Areas 3 (600,000 hectares) and 4 (616,000 hectares), both in northwest Palawan is adjacent to the resource-rich Spratlys Islands, which is also being claimed by China.

The areas are around 80 nautical miles from the Philippine coastline and around 570 nautical miles away from China, Layug said.

The DOE is already assessing the documents prior to the actual bidding from March to July.

“Our legal services bureau is currently reviewing all submissions,” Layug said.

For the PECR on coal projects, actual number of firms that signified interest exceeded the expectations of the DOE.

“For coal PECR, 42 companies submitted pre-qualification [documents],” Layug said.

Prior to the Feb. 29 deadline, the DOE received 20 documents. The DOE had expected as much as 30 firms to signify interest in the coal projects.

The government is offering 30 blocks in the coal PECR. Firms that submitted documents include PNOC-EC, Semirara Mining Corp., SKI Mining Corp., Benguet Corp. and Philex Petroleum.