DOE: Investments to be generated from lifting of WPS oil exploration ban to help economy recover

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi expressed optimism Friday that millions of dollars worth of investments can be generated after the government lifted the oil exploration moratorium in the West Philippine Sea.

Cusi said these investments could help ramp up the country’s economic recovery from the fallout brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Ito pong pag-lift ng ating moratorium sa West Philippine Sea will prime up our economy. It will generate investments in the West Philippine Sea,” Cusi told reporters in a virtual press briefing on Friday.

“This will create jobs and opportunities para sa mga Pilipino. Malaking bagay para ma-revive ang ekonomiya,” he said.

On Thursday night, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced that President Rodrigo Duterte gave the thumbs up for its recommendation to lift the suspension of petroleum activities in the disputed waters.

With this, the Energy department has already issued a “Resume-to-Work” to the Service Contractors (SC) doing petroleum-related activities in the areas of SC 59, 72, and 75 in the West Philippine Sea.

The activities there were suspended on the ground of “Force Majeure” due to the WPS dispute.

The SC 59 in West Balabac, southwest of Palawan is operated by state-run Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC).

The SC 72 in the Reed Bank, meanwhile, is held by London-listed Forum Energy Ltd.

Pangilinan-led PXP Energy Corp. holds the SC 75 in northwest Palawan.

For his part, Energy Assistant Secretary Bodie Puliod said the estimated investments by the service contractors is $25 million upon the lifting of the force majeure.

Apart from the said amount, Pulido said there is a total of $78 million worth of remaining minimum investments from the service contractors.

Data from the DOE also show that there are about 6,048 MMBO (million barrels of oil) and 7,108 BCF (billion cubic feet of natural gas) of undiscovered resources in the West Philippine Sea.

This is on top of the 155 MMBO and 5,050 BCF already discovered prior to the enforcement of force majeure during the Aquino administration.

In 2015, the DOE suspended all drilling and exploration works in the West Philippine Sea, particularly in the area covered by Service Contract (SC) 72 in the Reed Bank, citing a force majeure as the site is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Philippines and China.

In 2019, the Energy department asked the DFA to lift the moratorium covering the disputed waters.

The request was triggered by a letter from Forum Energy Ltd. on lifting the force majeure imposed on Service Contract 72 in the Reed Bank.

Under Republic Act 7638 or the "Department of Energy Act of 1992”, the DOE has the authority to regulate the exploration of the country’s indigenous energy resources.—AOL, GMA News