Oil and gas firms have until Aug. 21 to submit applications under PCECP

MANILA, Philippines — Investors are given more time to pursue oil and gas contracts in the country after government pushed back the deadline to submit applications under the Philippine Conventional Energy Contracting Program (PCECP) to August.

The deadline to submit applications for the 14 pre-determined areas (PDAs) under the PCECP was deferred to Aug. 21, the Department of Energy (DOE) said in a notice.

Originally, oil and gas companies were only given until May 21 – 180 days after the PCECP launch on November 22, 2018 – to submit their applications.

This is “to provide additional time for applicants and other interested parties to submit their complete application documents,” the DOE said.

Prior the deadline extension, the DOE said a number of firms have expressed interest to invest in the country’s oil and gas exploration sector.

Most of the interested parties are foreign firms, including Israeli firm Ratio Petroleum Ltd., Israel-based Delek Group, Rexxon Group, ExxonMobil, DOE officials said earlier.

Launched in November last year, the PCECP replaced the previous Philippine Energy Contracting Round (PECR).

The revised investment mechanism provides a more investor-friendly environment which is consistent with the directions set by President Duterte.

The application process under the PCECP has also been streamlined to provide potential investors with a quicker turnaround time for administrative and documentary requirements to prevent unnecessary delays.

The PCECP offers 14 pre-determined areas identified by the DOE namely one in Cagayan, three in East Palawan, three in Sulu Sea, two in Agusan-Davao, one in Cotabato, and four in West Luzon. These were previously under the fifth round of the PECR.

It also provides the option for investors to propose their own exploration area, wherein applications could be submitted at any time of the year, and would be subjected to a 60-day challenge period.

The DOE has been pushing for oil and gas exploration and development in the country and launched the PCECP in November last year as part of an intensified thrust to develop the petroleum exploration industry for global competitiveness.

Presently, there are only 23 active Petroleum Service Contracts (PSC) in the country, with the following developers: Shell Philippines Exploration, Total E&P, PNOC-EC, Nido Petroleum, Philodrill, PXP Energy and Galoc Production Company.

The largest and most successful natural gas industrial project in Philippine history is the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project.