Nido group picks seismic survey contractor for Palawan project

Australian firms Nido Petroleum Ltd. and Yilgarn Petroleum Philippines Pty Ltd. have awarded to Viking Maritime Inc., a subsidiary of Veritas Geophysical (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd., a contract to undertake 3D seismic survey in Service Contract (SC) 54 in Northwest Palawan.

Nido, as operator of SC 54 through its Philippine-based subsidiary Nido Petroleum Philippines, said it already signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Veritas.

Under the LOI, Veritas will use its M/V Veritas Viking II 3D vessel for a 653-square kilometer 3D seismic activity scheduled to start in October.

"Nido will now seek necessary government approvals and enter into formal contractual arrangements with Veritas," Nido said.

The company also plans to purchase regional 2D seismic data in SC 54 as part of a group shoot led by PNOC Exploration Corp. The Palawan 2D group shoot will deploy Veritas’ M/V Veritas Voyager, which is expected to be operating in the Philippines this month.

 "The SC 54 3D survey is Nido’s first opportunity to investigate the deep water turbidite potential in this basin. We are delighted to partner in this significant 3D survey with Veritas, who has had recent success in imaging similar turbidite plays from West Africa and is making available to us one of its flagship 3D vessels," Nido exploration head Paul Quaife said.

Early this year, Nido recognized the significant advantages to be gained by further enhancing its existing seismic database with modern 2D and 3D regional acquisition employing the latest technology.

With the support of the Department of Energy, Nido recently secured an amendment to SC 54 to allow these surveys to take place this year, thereby ensuring even greater success in its exploratory drilling.

By securing the 3D survey and pursuing an additional 2D survey, Nido will maintain its strong position in SC 54.

Nido chief operating officer Craig Martin  said the 3D seismic survey and the 2D survey will be the exploration firm’s first field operations in the Philippines since the new management team took over.

"The Manila and Perth offices are working together to ensure a successful and safe operation. We are also proud to be playing a role in the resurgence of exploration activity in the Philippines this year," Martin said.

Earlier, Nido accepted the farm-in offer of Yilgarn Gold Ltd. Yilgarn, a publicly-listed mineral exploration company in Australia, will hold 40 percent of SC 54. 

Last December 2005, Nido announced its decision to enter the second sub-phase of SC 54 in offshore Northwest Palawan.  The decision to enter the second sub-phase commits Nido to drill a well with a minimum expenditure of $6 million.

SC 54 comprises approximately 500,000 hectares. The primary drilling target for SC 54 is the Coron North structure.

Nido Petroleum Phils. together with other Filipino oil companies as a consortium presently operates the Nido and Matinloc fields, offshore oilfields located at Northwest Palawan that contribute about 5,000 barrels of oil per day to the Philippine energy mix.