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DOE now amenable to lifting Reed Bank oil exploration ban
The Department of Energy has sent a clear signal to the private sector on Tuesday that the government is now amenable to lifting the 2014 oil exploration ban in West Philippine Sea.
Amid warming relations between the Philippines and China and the shifting geopolitical landscape, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi on Tuesday told PXP Energy Corp. to make a request for the department to lift the force majeure covering Service Contract 72 in Reed Bank.
“You may file for the lifting of force majeure,” Cusi told PXP Energy president Daniel Carlos on the sidelines of the Energy Investment Forum in Taguig City
The DOE declared a force majeure in the Reed Bank in 2014, encompassing Service Contract No. 72. The declaration suspended oil drilling and exploration activities in area as part of disputed territories between Manila and Beijing.
Pangilinan-led PXP Energy, formerly known as Philex Petroleum Corp., holds a 77.5 percent controlling stake in Forum Energy, which has a 70-percent interest in SC 72.
“I will await their application and work from there,” Cusi separately told reporters on Tuesday.
SC 72’s Sampaguita Gas Field holds substantial volume of potential gas reserves, according to PXP, citing verified data from seismic surveys originally conducted in 2011.
“The interpretation of these surveys was carried out by Weatherford Petroleum Consultants in 2012. The report indicated the Sampaguita Gas Field to contain contingent resources of 2.6 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas in place,” the company said.
“The 2D seismic data were reprocessed in 2013 and were subsequently interpreted, aided by gravity-magnetics data that were interpreted by Fugro (2012) and Cosine Ltd. (2015). In 2015, Arex Energy produced a report on the north bank area and estimated the prospective resources to be 3.1 trillion cubic feet.”
The company will now work on how to proceed with its next move, Carlos said.
“Pag-uusapan namin sa board. Kung ganun pala ang sinabi niya na sa amin manggagaling, ‘di magre-request kami to lift the force majeure. Mag-aantay kami ng instruction from the DOE,” Carlos told reporters on the sidelines of the same energy forum.
Time is ripe to talk about lifting the exploration moratorium in West Philippine Sea for its potential energy reserves, he said.
“I think ... it’s already ripe... Naka force majeure so lifting na ang next,” Carlos said.
During the state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping in Manila on November 20, the Philippines and China signed a mutual understanding on possible cooperation deals in exploration and exploitation of resources in disputed waters. —VDS, GMA News
