PB: Marine life should be protected during drilling

The Cebu Provincial Board yesterday passed a resolution urging the Department of Energy, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and other government agencies to ensure that the exploratory oil and gas drilling activities in the territorial waters of the province will strictly comply with environmental laws and regulations.

The resolution authored by PB Member Victor Maambong stated that this is to protect and preserve the integrity of the marine habitat and creatures found therein.

Governor Gwendolyn Garcia earlier assured Cebuanos that she will continue to be vigilant in safeguarding the environment and its marine resources with the upcoming oil and gas exploration of NorAsian Energy Ltd.

The exploration company will be conducting oil and gas exploration in the water linking Cebu and Bohol, specifically in Cebu’s Sibonga-Argao areas.

Garcia already allayed fears among Cebuanos of this oil and gas exploration, saying such is a “good prospect and very encouraging.”

The resolution said that while “competing economic and environment advantages or disadvantages regarding oil and gas search in protected seascape remain unsettled, it may not be amiss to encourage the development of our energy resources, more so that we are perennially dependent on foreign oil supply that undoubtedly results to the continuing economic disadvantage.”

“However, our consent to any oil search must be premised on the explorer’s utmost observance of our laws and earnest regard for the protection and preservation of our rich marine resources,” it added.

DOE regional director Antonio Labios said that the exploration company has committed to drill an exploratory well either by the end of December this year or in January of next year.

NorAsian, along with partners named as Service Contract 51 which is composed of TransAsia Oil and Energy Development Corp., Alcorn Gold Resources, PetroEnergy Resources and Vital Resources Corp. of Canada, plan to drill a well which would cost the company between US$6 million and US$8 million.

The area encompassing 2,040 square kilometers between Bohol and Cebu comprises the South Block while some 2,400 square kilometers in northwestern Leyte is tagged as the North Block.

Service Contract 51 covers East Visayan basin with a total acreage for oil and gas exploration in 444,000 hectares of area in the East Visayas region and consists of an onshore-offshore block over northwest Leyte and a largely deepwater block in Cebu Strait, between the islands of Cebu and Bohol.           

NorAsian officials had earlier said that they are looking at recovering anywhere from around five million to six million barrels in terms of the recoverable reserves.

The NorAsian officials added initial studies show that the East Visayan Basin “has moderate risks with matured prospects, with high to very high recoverable reserves.” — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/MEEV