Marcos: DOE OKs drilling survey in Palawan's Cadlao oil field

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Tuesday disclosed that the Department of Energy (DOE) has allowed the drilling survey in the Cadlao oil field in Palawan.

In a press statement, Marcos said the government's commitment to preserve and maintain the incentives for service contractors under Presidential Decree 87 has been met with renewed confidence and strong interest by local and foreign investors in the oil and gas sector.

"An early indication is that the DOE recently allowed the Nido Petroleum Philippines Pty. Ltd., the Technical Operator/Operator of Service Contract 6B, to proceed with the site survey of their drilling locations in their service contract areas by the last quarter of this year," Marcos said.

"The activities will pave the way for the drilling of two wells - one exploration and one appraisal, by the first half of next year," he added.

Marcos said the appraisal well for the Cadlao oil field could lead to early oil production towards the second half of 2023 while the recoverable volumes expected from the said oil field are five to six million barrels of oil.

Cadlao is an old oil field that was last produced in the early 1990s with over 11 million barrels.

"While it is a first step, it signals the government's intent to maximize indigenous resources and has attracted strong interest from foreign investors in the Philippine upstream oil and gas sector," Marcos said.

Marcos said its operatorship was taken over by Nido Petroleum from Forum Energy Philippines Corporation (FEPC) in February 2022 to fund the 100 percent development costs, which include drilling, extended well tests, and subsequent development of the said oil field.

Office of the Press Secretary officer-in-charge Cheloy Garafil said the move shows the Marcos administration's commitment to determine other sources of oil products.

"Pinapakita ang commitment ng Pangulo na maghanap ng locally-sourced oil products or oil exploration projects para matugunan 'yung pagtaas ng presyo ng langis," Garafil said during a press briefing.

(This shows the President's commitment to determine locally-sourced oil products or oil exploration projects to address the soaring prices of fuel products.)—LDF, GMA News