Oil exploration sites bid moved

The Department of Energy is again extending the deadline for oil exploration site auction to mid-2015 to attract more investors into the Philippine upstream oil industry.

In a briefing, Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla said the deadline of submissions for the petroleum side of the Philippine Energy Contracting Round 5 (PECR5) was moved from March 31 to late May or early June.

When DOE launched PECR5 in May this year, it originally set the deadline for submission of bids for petroleum exploration areas for Feb. 27, 2015. This was later changed to March 31 and now to mid-2015.

Petilla said the extension should give investors more time to study the areas on offer. The government has allowed a third party to make initial surveys on PECR5 oil blocks at no cost to the state and to offer such data to interested private investors.

The final date will be discussed by the DOE-Review and Evaluation Committee, he said.

A handful of companies have bought data packs, indicating interest in the oil exploration blocks.

Meanwhile, the bidding for the coal areas is right on schedule.

PECR5 is expected to generate at least P7.23 billion in petroleum exploration investments and at least P150 million in coal exploration investments.

The PECR5 offers 11 areas for petroleum exploration (mostly located in Luzon) and 15 areas for coal exploration (mostly in Mindanao).