PNOC, Petronas defer drilling

The joint venture of Malaysia’s Petronas and PNOC-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC) has decided to defer the first scheduled oil drilling for service contract (SC) 47 in Northwest Palawan to January 2007.

PNOC president Eduardo Mañalac said the group has moved the drilling schedule due to lack of available drilling rig and equipment.

Mañalac, however, said the consortium is currently conducting a different kind of pre-exploration study, called a seabed logging survey. This technique will attempt to measure potential hydrocarbon or oil near the seabed.

SC 47, owned 80 percent by Petronas Carigali Overseas Sdn Bhd and 20 percent by PNOC-EC, was signed on Jan. 10. 2005. It is one of the most attractive exploration acreages in the geologic region in Northwest Palawan.

Work commitment for the first sub-phase (in the first two years of exploration) includes basin evaluation studies and drilling of one of the exploration wells.

The first significant oil discovery outside the proven petroleum province of offshore Northwest Palawan was made with the drilling by PNOC-EC of the Maniguin-2 well on the island of Maniguin in 1994.

This well flowed sub-commercial quantities of oil and proved the existence of a valid petroleum system in the area. 

The highly encouraging results of the Maniguin drilling have prompted PNOC-EC to pursue additional evaluation studies, including the acquisition of 2D and 3D seismic data, to better understand the area’s petroleum potential.

Two prospects, Cherry and Tablas, have been mapped, evaluated and matured for drilling.