PHINMA’s Palawan55 prepares to drill for gas

Palawan55 Exploration & Production Corporation, a subsidiary of PHINMA Petroleum and Geothermal Inc. (PPG) is preparing to drill for gas in offshore west Palawan, PPG said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.

PPG said in a July 24, 2019 letter to both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Philippine Stock Exchange that the Palawan55 consortium is entering into the 5th sub-phase of its contract starting next month.

“Please be informed that Palawan55 … notified the Department of Energy (DOE) today that Palawan55 is entering into the 5th sub-phase of Service Contract No. 55 (SC55), which covers a deepwater exploration block off southwest Palawan, effective 26 August 2019.”

Palawan55 is the operator of SC55 and owns a 37.5% participating interest. The 5th sub-phase carries a commitment to drill one “ultradeepwater well” beyond 1,500 meters in the second quarter of 2020.

In 2015, the consortium drilled the Hawkeye-1 well within its service contract and discovered natural gas.

But the estimated “volume of the accumulation” was deemed by the former operator, Otto Energy Investments, as non-commercial on a stand-alone basis.

“Palawan55 is currently undertaking quantitative interpretation of over 1,000 sq. km. of recently reprocessed 3D seismic data over the greater Hawkeye area and a large carbonate reef prospect,” said in a disclosure submitted by assistant corporate secretary Alan Ascalon.

According to PPG’s business profile, the Palawan55 consortium includes Otto Energy Philippines, Otto Energy Investments, Century Red Pte. Ltd., and Pryce Gases Inc. —VDS, GMA News