DOE: Philippines has vast exploration prospects in petroleum, coal

CEBU, Philippines - There are vast exploration opportunities in petroleum and coal sectors in the country, according to the Department of Energy.

Based on DOE data presented recently at the 2016 Visayas Energy Investment Forum in Cebu City last month, the country currently has 29 active petroleum service contracts (PSCs), five are located in Visayas.

The five are located in North Cebu, Central Cebu, South Cebu, East Visayan Basin and Visayas Basin with a total area of 1,590 hectares.

Among DOE's contractor-partners include Otto Energy, Forum Exploration Inc., Gas 2 Grid Pte. Ltd., Shell Philippines Exploration and China International Mining and Petroleum Inc.

DOE said the 29 PSCs have produced 2.37 million barrels of oil, 122.54 billion cubic feet of gas and 3.74 million barrels of condensate in 2015. From January to May 2016, they have produced 0.92 million barrels of oil, 48.04 billion cubic feet of gas and 1.44 million barrels of condensate.

According to DOE, the Philippines has 16 sedimentary basins representing an area of over 700,000 square kilometers, with a combined potential of 4,777 million barrels of fuel equivalent. 

DOE said these are areas of opportunities in the petroleum sector for prospective investors.

The department continuously conducts its Philippine Energy Contracting Round (PECR) to invite more investors.

PECR is the government's mechanism that allows it to develop and utilize indigenous petroleum resources under a service contract through partnerships with qualified local and international exploration companies.

A petroleum-service contract has a seven-year exploration period but could be extended to up to 10 years. If exploration activities were successful, the parties could enter into a 25-year production period.

Coal

DOE data also showed the country also has coal reserves that could be explored and developed. The coal sector is another potential source of power.

DOE is currently monitoring total of 75 coal-operating contracts, 45 are in exploration phase and 30 are in the development and production phase.

The Visayas region has 7 contracts in exploration and 9 contracts in development and production phase.

Meanwhile, over a hundred stakeholders attended the forum last month including energy project developers, electric cooperatives, government agencies and business development groups.  (FREEMAN)