Basic Energy ramps up spending for projects
MANILA, Philippines—Listed oil and gas exploration and development firm Basic Energy is spending $2.5 million this year to develop its first two oil well ventures in Indonesia and prepare renewable energy projects in the Philippines, company president and CEO Oscar L. de Venecia Jr. told reporters.
“Indonesia happened just recently, so just a minor part of that (capex budget) will go to the Indonesian project,” De Venecia said.
Basic Energy Corp. has begun work on the first two of the 10-well work-over projects in Indonesia through joint venture firm PT Basic Energi Solusi. The aim is to enhance oil recovery in the said wells through the technology of Basic Energy’s Malaysian partner, Petrosolve Sdn Bhd of Malaysia.
Without going into specifics, De Venecia said this year’s capex was much higher than the budget last year. “We didn’t spend much on the projects last year,” he said.
The first two wells for re-drilling in Indonesia may cost $1 million to $1.5 million, De Venecia said.
“We add to that the preliminary work that we have to do in our three new contract areas in geothermal plus the preparations on the fourth (geothermal project),” he said.
Basic Energy is also undergoing the application process for mini-hydropower projects.
On March 30, 2012, the company submitted to the Department of Energy (DOE) its applications for mini-hydro service contracts in 10 frontier areas in the Visayas.
In April 2013, the DOE notified the company to pay the processing fees for two of its 10 applications. The company was also advised that the others were still under evaluation. The processing fees have already been paid and Basic Energy expects the service contracts for these two applications to be awarded in the third quarter.
In Indonesia, De Venecia said the exploration expertise of Basic Energy and PetroSolve’s enhanced oil recovery technology should yield positive results for the venture.
PetroSolve’s chemical enhancement application is a proven technology to boost oil production using cost-effective chemical processes. Data from PetroSolve showed two successful projects in Indonesia.
The chemical enhancement process resulted in an increased production in 10 oil wells by some 2,000 barrels per day. A total of 64,000 additional barrels were also produced in 20 months from another old small field.
