Gov't to offer 26 new areas for petroleum, coal exploration

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The government is eyeing 26 new areas for petroleum and coal exploration to be offered to investors, a senior government official said today.

Department of Energy (DOE) Undersecretary Ramon Allan Oca, also chairman of the DOE Review and Evaluation Committee, said that the new areas of exploration will be presented during the launching of the Fifth Philippine Energy Contracting Round (PECR5) on Friday.

Of the 26 possible exploration areas, 11 for petroleum with large concentration in northern island of Luzon and 15 for coal, mostly in southern island of Mindanao, he said.

Oca said the DOE will also be conducting international roadshows to encourage more energy players abroad to join the contracting round.