DOE to offer 20 new areas under Contracting Round 5

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Energy (DOE) is set to offer 20 areas around the country in another round of petroleum and coal exploration under the so-called Philippine Energy Contracting Round 5.

“As of now the tentative areas are nine areas for oil and gas and 11 areas for coal,” Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla told reporters.

He added that the DOE continues to receive nominations for more areas.

“We are still receiving nominations and we will be finalizing them by April 4 and by then we will have to the total numbers,” Petilla said.

According to the DOE, applicants interested in coal and petroleum contracts may start submitting their applications starting May 5 to the Department of Energy.

The last day of acceptable PECR application is on Sept. 5 and the endorsement of winning applications is set on Nov. 21, according to the DOE circular.

Through this new round, the government is eyeing new investors to explore potential coal and petroleum fields around the country under a new petroleum contracting round set for launching within the first quarter of the year.

Earlier, Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla said the awarding of the contracts is targeted in June. However, there had been delays because the department had to verify areas that were up for bidding.

A regular activity conducted by the DOE, PECR 5 is a transparent and competitive system for awarding service contracts.

The goal is to showcase the petroleum exploration opportunities in the country and to attract energy investors to develop the country’s indigenous oil and gas resources.

In 2011, the DOE launched its 4th PECR covering fifteen blocks or an area of approximately 100,339 square kilometers (km).

The blocks have an average size of 6,700 square kms each, located mostly in the country’s frontier regions.

Investments in these service contracts are huge but the returns are attractive as well, depending on their respective petroleum potential.

Proponents have to embark on seismic studies, which may cost at least $5 million, and exploration well drilling activities amounting to up to $100 million per well, data from the Energy department showed.

More importantly, successful exploration could yield new sources of energy for the Philippines, which is still a heavy importer of oil and thus, dependent on movements in the global crude market.