Australian firm may join search for oil in Palawan, Cebu

Australia’s NorAsian Energy Ltd. is set to explore three oil fields in the Palawan and Cebu offshore areas with a combined potential oil reserves of at least 350 million barrels of oil per day (bopd), more than the estimated potential of the Malampaya oil and gas fields.

Based on initial studies, the crude oil output can be processed into commercial quality gasoline, diesel and natural gas.

NorAsian Energy chief exe-cutive officer Ken Fellowes said that there is also a huge potential for the export of crude oil from the wells, as well as tap natural gas for power generation.

Fellowes said they already initiated talks with semi-gover-nment owned Petron Corp., which has a refinery in Bataan that could refine the crude oil into finished petroleum pro-ducts. Petron has live supply contracts but expressed interest at the end of the contracts.

"In fact, we have been approached by an existing player here and a foreign group based in Singapore," he added.

Initial investments could reach at least $38 million for the three wells.

NorAsia Energy also invested in a oil rig, known as a multi-purpose semi submersible (MPSS), through a bareboat charter agreement that had been certified by international classification agencies. It has a production capacity of 45,000 bopd.

The oil rig is scheduled to arrive early next year, and will start drilling operations three months from arrival.

The three wells with service contracts (SC) are: SC 50 in Calauit, Northwestern Palawan near the Malampaya gas complex; SC 51 in East Visayas basin which have as partners Trans-Asia Oil & Energy Development Corp., Alcorn Gold Resources Corp., and PetroEnergy Resources Corp.; and SC 55 in Marantao basin in Southwestern Palawan.

Early this year, the Department of Energy (DOE) signed two accords with the state-run Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) and with the SC 38 consortium for the development of the Camago-Malampaya Oil Leg (CMOL) located beneath the Malampaya natural gas reservoir.

The two agreements signed are the terms of service between the Department of Energy and the PNOC for the re-appraisal, development and production of the CMOL, and the tripartite agreement among the DOE, PNOC and the SC 38 consortium to protect the value and integrity of the Malampaya deep water gas-to-power project.

The SC 38 consortium decided to allow third parties to develop the Malampaya oil rim, and PNOC may likewise hire third party participants in the re-appraisal, development and production of crude oil reservoir from the CMOL.