Galoc oil field shut down for 3-month upgrade

Galoc Production Co. (GPC) has temporarily shut operations of the Galoc oil field off Palawan to allow for the upgrading of its facilities over the next three months.

Australian firm Otto Energy Ltd., which owns GPC, explained that the “shut in” began last November 23 in preparation for the transport of the Galoc floating production storage and offtake (FPSO) facility to the Keppel shipyard in Singapore, where it will be upgraded.

“The upgrade of the mooring system to a turret system is expected to substantially increase the reliability and uptime of the FPSO and is a crucial component of infrastructure to enable the Galoc joint venture to move ahead with a potential Phase II development program,” Otto Energy explained in a regulatory filing.

Covered by Service Contract 14C, the Galoc oil field has produced 8.14 million barrels as of end-September this year, at a rate of about 6,500 barrels of oil a day.

The Galoc joint venture is already preparing for a possible phase 2 development of the field.

Otto Energy had said it was able to identify at least four potential locations, where it can drill as many as three new wells under the

second phase.