Pitkin Petroleum gets 70% stake in oil exploration project off Palawan
MANILA, Philippines – UK-registered Pitkin Petroleum Plc is acquiring a 70-percent participating interest in Service Contract 6A off northwest Palawan, following the signing of the Farm-in Agreement and Deed of Assignment among parties on Monday.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, The Philodrill Corp., one of the farming out parties in the agreement, said that in exchange for the 70-percent stake, Pitkin would acquire, at its own cost, 500 square kilometers of 3D seismic data, worth $5 million.
Pitkin, should it exercise its options, is expected to drill up to two exploration wells within the Octon block, still at no cost to the farming out parties.
Apart from Philodrill, the farming out parties included Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp., Philex Petroleum Corp., PetroEnergy Resources Corp., Forum Energy Philippines Corp., Anglo-Philippine Holding Corp., and Alcorn Gold Resources Corp.
Philodrill added that the Farm-in Agreement and Deed of Assignment would still be subject to the approval of the Department of Energy.
According to data from the website of Philodrill, the consortium operating the Octon block is planning to spend $546,000 (roughly P23 million) for its work program this year alone.
The work program involved the reprocessing of 3D data over the northern block to firm up the various exploration prospects and play in the area including the West Malajon, Barselisa and Salvacion.
“The whole reprocessing program will be… (the company’s) contractual commitment for calendar year 2011 while interpretation and evaluation of the reprocessed data will be the contemplated work program for calendar year 2012,” Philodrill had said.
It was earlier reported that the Octon block contained at least 3 billion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas reserves.
