3D seismic surveys in Palawan for oil, gas resources completed

Department of Energy facade from DOE / FILE

MANILA — The Department of Energy (DOE) said Tuesday two seismic surveys in the Palawan basins were completed as part of the country’s exploration for indigenous oil and gas resources.

Israeli firm Ratio Petroleum Ltd., the operator of Service Contract (SC) No. 76, completed its survey in the East Palawan Basin, while PNOC Exploration Corporation (PNOC-EC) concluded its own survey in the Northwest Palawan Basin under SC 57, it said in a statement.

The DOE said the collected data will help understand the geological features of the basins and assess their oil and gas potential.

READ: DOE approves conduct of 3D seismic survey of East Palawan Basin

“The completion of these surveys marks a significant milestone in the nation’s petroleum exploration efforts, underscoring the DOE’s commitment to pursuing high-impact activities to support inclusive economic growth and societal advancement,” DOE Secretary Raphael Lotilla said.

DOE Undersecretary Alessandro Sales said the processing of information from the activities up to the analysis and evaluation of data will take at least one and a half years.

Moreover, the agency approved these surveys as part of the companies’ service contract commitments. The operations were supported by the provincial government of Palawan and various national government agencies.

Ratio and PNOC-EC have contracted Shearwater Geoservices company and its seismic survey vessel SW Thuridur to collect the data.

The surveys, conducted from March 18 to June 20, 2024, covered 1,619 square kilometers in SC 76 and 1,519 square kilometers in SC 57.