Oil drilling at Leyte town stopped

ORMOC CITY , Philippines   â€” Energy Undersecretary Ramon Allan Oca disclosed that the oil drilling exploration at San Isidro town, about 2-hour travel northward from this city, was stopped two weeks ago "for environmental and safety concerns."

Oca said the recent drilling was already the second one carried out in that town by the Australian firm, Otto Energy Ltd.

The first was last year and the workers were "almost at the target depth" when they encountered an impregnable layer of rock that even sophisticated drilling equipment could not penetrate. The drilling had to be abandoned, but it could have given everybody a good picture of what lay underneath, said the undersecretary.

Oca said the Otto also had to abandon the Duhat-2 after the drilling encountered a "kick" at around 200 meters depth. A "kick" is a gas build-up that could cause the rig to collapse, endangering workers, he said.

After an assessment was made, it was decided that the risk to lives far outweighed the advantage of finding oil, said Oca.

In the meantime, the oil prospector is gathering new data and looking for a new location to drill. "Initial studies showed the prospect is good but until we reach the target depth, we can never tell," said Oca.

Oca said the drilling that Otto has been doing was still at the "prospecting stage," and it will be the company's decision to pursue the project "if they find there is really oil, that it is of good quality and its volume is commercially viable," he said. "As a business, the main consideration would be commercial viability."

Nonetheless, the DOE has been hopeful that the prospector will find oil at the Duhat 2 area, said Oca, adding that the country needs to develop more power supply sources.

Oca was in this city to represent Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla, who was invited to be the keynote speaker of the 3rd Eastern Visayas Regional Business Conference, hosted by the Ormoc City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, last August 15 to 17. (FREEMAN)