The Department of Energy, with the help of other government agencies, has started beefing up security within prospective petroleum exploration areas, particularly in offshore Palawan and southern Mindanao.
Using the P8 billion in royalties earned from the Malampaya operations, the government will purchase three bluewater vessels called the Hamilton, helicopters, radar and other high-speed vessels that would secure Philippine waters, said Energy Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras.
The first Hamilton vessel is expected to arrive in the country soon. The purchase of the two other Hamilton vessels will be pursued as the US government provided improved terms, Almendras said in a briefing Tuesday.
Portion of the fund will also be used to prepare for rescue operations in case of accidents in the exploration areas.
According to Almendras, the planned purchase of the equipment was based on the recommendation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
“We will be using [part of the] proceeds of the Malampaya, which we have collected, to protect the Malampaya assets and encourage similar exploration developments,” Almendras said.
“We have intensified our assistance and security since we are giving out 15 new petroleum service contracts and some of these service contracts are located between Palawan and Mindanao, where there is a security threat…. When you have a $100-million oil rig, you cannot have bandit operations interfering,” Almendras said.
The energy chief pointed out that the Aquino administration had already declared that it was “willing to invest in the security and support infrastructure” to secure petroleum investments. And this, he added, was the reason why there were about 140 companies that have expressed interest in bidding for the 15 petroleum blocks being offered by the government through the Philippine Energy Contracting Round.