Total joins Mitra in exploring Sulu Sea
- Published on Sunday, 07 October 2012 18:07
- Written by Paul Anthony A. Isla / Reporter
Service Contract 56
was originally held by Exxon Mobil Exploration and Production
Philippines B.V., but was relinquished after determining that the
estimated reserves were marginal for them to develop. The remaining
members of the Service Contract 56 consortium are Mitra Energy
(Philippines SC 56) Ltd. and BHP Billiton.
Layug said Total has
been wanting to enter the Philippines and has been waiting for some
time. They were even scheduled to do a new exploration phase last month,
he said.
Under the new
exploration phase, Layug said Total hopes to acquire additional
three-dimensional data, which they target to finish within the rest of
the year.
Layug said the energy department hopes that the consortium would be drilling wells by the third or fourth quarter of next year.
He said Total remains to be bullish in the Philippines, as it sees a lot of potentials.
Drilling operations
under SC 56 first began on October 11, 2009, while Exxon completed
drilling its fourth well—the Babendil-1—under SC 56 in Sulu Sea in
October 2010.
The Babendil-1 well
was drilled to a total depth of 4,092 meters (13,425 feet), which began
on August 4, 2010. The West Aquarius, the same drilling rig used in the
first three wells, was used to drill Babendil-1. With the completion of
Babendil-1, Exxon has fulfilled all commitments under SC 56 with the
Department of Energy (DOE).
Layug said the group
contracted to explore and develop the Cadlao oil block under SC 6
continues its efforts to secure drill rigs.
He said the Cadlao
group led by Blade Petroleum Philippines Ltd., and VenturOil Philippines
Inc., which hold 80-percent and 20-percent interest in SC 6, expect the
drill rigs to be commissioned in the first quarter or third quarter
next year.
Layug said the energy department is currently reviewing the field development plan and its cost.
The high oil price environment, according to Layug, makes the oil block economical for development.
He said an updated
study for the Camago Malampaya Oil Leg (CMOL) is needed to support the
potential to develop the said field. The CMOL is the oil portion
underneath the Malampaya gas project.
For every year of
delay in harvesting the oil from the CMOL—a highly technical and
sensitive operation that, in the hands of inexperienced groups, could
damage the existing lucrative natural-gas area—PNOC earlier estimated a
diminution of 7 million to 8 million barrels of oil a year in ultimate
recovery.
Layug said they will bid out the contract once the government decides to develop the CMOL
In April and July this
year, the DOE bid out a total of 15 service contracts under the Fourth
Philippine Energy Contracting Round (PECR 4).
PECR 4 forms part of
President Aquino’s long-term plans to address Philippines’s need for oil
and gas and reduce dependence on imported oil. It provides for
transparent and competitive system of tendering onshore and offshore oil
and gas blocks for exploration to interested oil and gas companies.
Under this process,
the DOE determines the winning bidders based on specific technical,
legal and financial criteria. The President then awards service
contracts pursuant to the mandate of the 1987 Philippine Constitution
and Presidential Decree 87, otherwise known as “The Oil Exploration and
Development Act of 1972.”
