Fil-Aussie consortium to drill under West Philippine Sea

• Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/07/19/15/fil-aussie-consortium-drill-west-philippine-sea
• Sunday, July 19, 2015 10:37 pm

(ABS-CBNnews.com)

MANILA – Amid a territorial dispute with China over the West Philippine Sea, an Australian-Filipino consortium is set to drill a new deepwater exploratory well there, in the hopes of unlocking a commercially viable oil reservoir.

The consortium, composed of Australia’s Otto Energy Investments Ltd., Red Emperor Resources NL, and Palawan 55 Exploration and Production Corp., will spud the Hawkeye exploratory well on August 1, after the super deepwater drillship Maersk Venturer arrives on July 31.

The consortium operates Service Contract (SC) 55, a deepwater block in the southwest Palawan Basin that covers an area of 988 hectares.

SC 55 is not situated in the contested territory in the West Philippine Sea.

It can be recalled that in March, Forum Energy Plc, the operator of another petroleum exploration concession in the West Philippine Sea, suspended its operations. This is because it falls within the disputed area that is now the subject of a United Nations arbitration process between the Philippines and China.

In a statement released Sunday, Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers’ Association (LPG-MA) Partylist Representative Arnel Ty said: “This new drilling underscores the strategic economic value of the West Philippine Sea, which is the source of most of the country’s productive offshore oil and gas fields.”

Ty also noted that the drilling is believed to hoard stacks of hydrocarbon that could enable the Philippines to become self-sufficient in its future energy needs once harnessed.

Otto Energy said the Hawkeye well is expected to take around 23 days to drill from the Maersk Venturer’s arrival until release.

Otto also said Hawkeye could possibly contain a “best estimate” of 112 million barrels of oil.

Palawan 55 is a wholly owned subsidiary of Trans-Asia Petroleum Corp., a Philippine Stock Exchange-listed entity controlled by businessman Ramon R. del Rosario Jr.

Palawan 55 has a 6.82% interest in the project. Otto Energy is the operator with a 78.18% interest in the project, while Red Emperor has a 15% stake.