Spex eyes strategic partner for South China venture

Shell Petroleum Exploration B.V. (Spex) is open to the idea of getting a strategic partner in its exploration venture in South China Sea.

Spex managing director Jeremy Cliff told reporters that the company has been planning to farm out a portion of their geophysical exploration contract (GSEC) 99 South of Palawan.

"We are willing to find a potential partner. We plan to make GSEC 99 another Malampaya type," he said.

Spex is the major operator of the $4.5 billion Malampaya deep water gas-to-power project in Northwest Palawan. At present, Spex controls about 50 percent of GSEC 99.

"We want to find another area where we can explore aside from our existing Malampaya project. We have to move forward," he said.

Cliff said they are planning to drill a well in GSEC 99 within the next 18 months but would need a partner to finance a portion of the drilling project.

He said drilling a single well would cost between $15 million to $20 million.

According to Cliff, they are also considering joining the bidding for the Petroleum Public Contracting Round (PCR-I) of the Department of Energy (DOE). "We are looking very carefully at PCR," he said.

The DOE will bid out 46 new exploration blocks close to oil and gas discoveries and producing fields within the Philippine territory thru public bidding. PCR-I is a new mechanism of awarding concessions in oil and gas explorations thru the competitive public bidding where highly prospective petroleum acreages in the Northwest Palawan and vast frontier areas in Southwest and East Palawan, Sulu Sea and Reed Bank will be placed on the market for application.