MANILA, Philippines — Listed upstream oil and gas firm PXP Energy Corp. saw its losses widen in the first quarter due to lower margins from Galoc operations and higher interest expense.
PXP recorded a net loss of P5.34 million in the January to March period, nearly double the P2.82 million net loss incurred in the first quarter last year.
Core net loss also ballooned to P6.61 million from last year’s P1.69 million.
PXP generated P17.9 million in consolidated petroleum revenues in the first quarter, down 4.8 percent from P18.8 million.
Petroleum revenues came from one completed lifting of 136,087 barrels at $81.4 per barrel in Service Contract (SC) 14C-1 Galoc.
PXP said costs and expenses rose to P22.4 million from last year’s P20.4 million as a result of higher petroleum production costs in SC 14C-1 Galoc at P10.9 million.
It said overhead expenses also slightly increased to P11.5 million d2uring the first quarter.
PXP said the group would continue to pursue exploration work with respect to its other projects in the Philippines, including SC 40 and SC 74.
SC 74 is the Linapacan block in northwest Palawan, while SC 40 is the North Cebu block located in the Visayan Basin.
Last March 29, the DOE granted PXP’s request to place SC 74 under a technical moratorium for the period Sept. 13, 2022 to Sept. 13, 2024 to enable the company and its joint venture partners to undertake further studies and establish the appropriate technology needed to increase the production rate and recoverable reserves from the Linapacan B field that will warrant economically viable production.
Meanwhile, the company said they would continue to coordinate with the government on the resumption of activities in both SC 75 and SC 72.”
PXP holds 50 percent interest in SC 75 located in Northwest Palawan.
Forum Energy Ltd., in which PXP holds a direct and indirect interest of 79.13 percent, has a 70 percent participating interest in SC 72, also in Northwest Palawan, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Forum.
PXP has a total economic interest of 54.36 percent in SC 72.
The Department of Energy (DOE) last March 20 further affirmed that the entire period from Oct. 14, 2020, when the force majeure was lifted, to April 6, 2022, when the same was re-imposed, will be credited back to SC 72 and SC 75.
“Thus, once the force majeure is lifted in the future, both SCs will retain the equivalent remaining terms of the respective subphases prior to Oct. 14, 2020,” PXP said.