DOE to conduct roadshows for oil, gas exploration

The Department of Energy (DOE) is conducting a series of roadshows to help boost oil and gas exploration in the Philippines under the Philippine Conventional Energy Contracting Program (PCECP).

DOE officials will be in Palawan on September 20 for the local roadshows, followed by other events in Davao on September 27 and in Zamboanga in October.

“We have to be aggressive in our pursuit of achieving energy self-sufficiency as envisioned by the Duterte Administration. Maximizing our exploration and development activities would help us keep up with energy sector developments and economic changes in the ASEAN region and worldwide,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said in a statement on Wednesday.

During the roadshows, local communities will get an orientation on the benefits of hosting exploration and development projects as well as its greater contribution to nation-building.

According to DOE, the three locations were chosen as they are strategically located near some of the 14 pre-determined areas (PDAs) with potential petroleum exploration and development activities.

The PDAs include one area in the Cagayan Basin, three in Eastern Palawan, three in Sulu, two in Agusan-Davao, and four in Western Luzon.

Under the PCECP, prospective investors may to nominate areas not on the PDA list.

The PCECP is the DOE’s petroleum service contract awarding mechanism which “allows the government to develop and utilize indigenous petroleum resources under a service contract with qualified local and international exploration companies.”

“This PCECP could mean a lot for the country in our search for a new source of energy like the Malampaya,” Cusi said, noting that Malampaya’s natural gas reserves would be depleted by 2022.

The Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project is the largest and most successful natural gas project in the country, serving about 30 percent of the power requirements of Luzon.

After the roadshows, the DOE is set to launch the PCECP in November. — Anna Felicia Bajo/VDS, GMA News