Philex Petroleum focusing on 2 new blocks off Palawan

MANILA, Philippines - Upstream energy firm Philex Petroleum Corp. is focusing on two new petroleum blocks in the resource-rich but disputed  area off Northwestern Palawan.

New exploration projects will be started this year as Philex Petroleum conducts more discussions for a partnership with the Chinese government’s oil exploration arm for another service contract, the company’s top official said.

“We are awaiting the official award for Areas 4 and 5....We need to do survey work before we drill,” Philex Petroleum chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said after the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting.

Philex Petroleum president and chief operating officer Carlo S. Pablo said the company is looking to conduct seismic surveys for Areas 4 and 5 this year.

In July, the Department of Energy (DOE) bid out Area 4 (616,000 hectares) and Area 5 (424,000 hectares), both located in  Northwestern Palawan.

Philex Petroleum won the bidding but the signing of the service contract has yet to be completed.

Pablo said the seismic survey, which will identify potential drilling areas, will last for two years that is well within the seven-year exploration period to be granted by the DOE.

“The objective is to do things back-to-back to save on logistics costs,” Pablo said.

Pangilinan said Area 4 is a bit more sensitive given China’s territorial claim while Area 5 is not part of the dispute.

Meanwhile, activities in  Service Contract (SC) 72 will focus on the reprocessing of existing seismic survey to improve the data quality, Pablo said.