Local firm eyes oil, gas in Sulu Sea

An all-Filipino firm’s proposal to look for oil and gas in the Sulu Sea basin went unchallenged as the government revs up efforts to rekindle exploration activities in the country.

No other company stepped forward with a competing proposal related to the application of Sulu Sea Energy Resources Development Corp. (SSERDC) that concerns an area that the company itself chose—what the Department of Energy (DOE) calls a “nominated area.”

The DOE is scheduled to open today (Monday) sealed documents related to applications for 14 “predetermined areas,” or those that are included in a list of promising exploration blocks spread out across the archipelago.

SSERDC’s application is now undergoing evaluation proper toward a possible grant of a petroleum service contract.

With the government hoping that investors would find the next Malampaya oil and gas field, the DOE is subjecting to challenge three applications for service contracts, including that of SSERDC.

Two other applications for nominated areas involve prospects in the Northwest Palawan basin and Southeast Luzon basin.

This is part of the latest round of the Philippine Conventional Energy Contracting Program, through which the DOE hopes to reinvigorate petroleum exploration and development activities in the country.

The government hopes for a major oil and gas discovery that would help cushion the volatility of oil prices in the international market, which has a direct impact on the costs of transport and electricity in the Philippines.