Philex Petroleum profit hits P472M

Publicly listed Philex Petroleum Corp. posted a net income of P472 million in the first nine months of the year, boosted largely by the petroleum revenue of its subsidiary.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Philex Petroleum said its net income was “generated principally from the petroleum revenue equivalent to P385.8 million, contributed by Forum Energy Plc.”

Forum Energy, which is currently developing the highly prospective oil and gas areas within the Recto Bank, is 64.5-percent owned by Philex Petroleum.

Philex Petroleum disclosed that a nonrecurring gain of P443.7 million was booked during the first nine months of the year, due to the “restatement of the company’s investment in Pitkin Petroleum Plc after Philex Petroleum’s holding in Pitkin was diluted to 18.46 percent from 21 percent.”

In the third quarter alone, Philex Petroleum, which in turn is 64.79-percent owned by Philex Mining Corp., posted a net loss of P51 million and revenue of P56.9 million.

In September, Philex Petroleum debuted in the Philippine Stock Exchange by way of introduction or without any initial public offering.

Philex Mining chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan earlier disclosed that the group was planning to invest some $86 million in Service Contract 72 for its exploration activities between now until mid-2013.

With the $86-million work commitment, the SC72 joint venture is expected to do an appraisal and drill an exploration well within the Recto Bank over the next two years, Pangilinan said.

The Recto Bank was earlier claimed to be part of the Spratlys Group of Islands.

The Recto Bank is about 80 nautical miles west of southwestern Palawan, well within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile (370-kilometer) exclusive economic zone (EEZ).