50 firms vie for gov’t gas, oil contracts

At least 50 oil and gas exploration companies have already requested access to the petroleum reserves data of the Department of Energy (DoE), covering 15 highly prospective areas that are up for auction.

Energy Undersecretary Jose M. Layug Jr. said that the companies—such as Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Total of France, ENI of Italy, BHP Billiton and Exxon of the United States—appeared to be quite eager in participating in the Philippine Energy Contracting Round 4.

“We expect the number [of companies] to increase as we make more data available for viewing,” Layug said in a statement.

According to the Energy official, the Philippine government continues to aggressively push its oil and gas exploration program despite problems arising from conflicting claims in the West Philippine Sea.

“The Philippines is firm in its resolve to discover and develop oil and gas reserves. We are open for business,” said Layug, who recently attended the 16th Oil and Gas Week in Singapore and the New Generation Oil and Gas Summit in Malaysia.

In both events, Layug promoted 15 blocks, 12 of which are located offshore, under the Philippine Energy Contracting Round 4. The prospective oil and gas blocks span an area of more than 10 million hectares in Northwest Palawan, East Palawan, and Sulu Sea basins.

The PECR 4 is a component of the Aquino administration’s long-term plans to meet the country’s energy demand through exploration, development and utilization of its resources. The DoE expects to award 15 new service contracts sometime in 2012.

There are 28 active petroleum service contracts in the Philippines today. Northwest Palawan is home to the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project, the largest and most successful natural gas industrial project in the country.—Amy R. Remo