Petron buys first oil output from Galoc

Giant oil refiner Petron Corp. said yesterday it has purchased the first oil output from the Galoc field in Northwest Palawan.

Petron chairman Nicasio Alcantara said this represents another milestone for the oil company.

Alcantara said Petron has entered into an agreement with Galoc Production Co. (GPC) to buy the first cargo of crude oil produced from the Galoc field.

The cargo shipment of 300,000 barrels of Palawan light crude oil is expected to arrive at Petron’s Bataan refinery on Nov. 7.

“We are pleased to be the first oil company to buy and process Palawan light crude oil, which comes from the latest production well in the country. The success of Galoc signals a new era of exploration in the Philippines and is a positive step towards energy self-sufficiency,” Alcantara said.

Meanwhile, GPC said the sale of the first oil cargo to Petron is benchmarked on international prices.

GPC said cargo loading is expected to take approximately 36 hours after which it will be delivered to Petron’s refinery in Limay, Bataan.

There has now been over 20 days of production from the Galoc field during which time the average production rate has been 15,000 barrels per day, including approximately one week of commissioning and production testing.

The drilling vessel FPSO Rubicon Intrepid has been performing well with minimal downtime, GPC said, adding that the next cargo is expected by late November.

Petron is the largest oil refining and marketing company in the Philippines with a 180,000-barrel per day oil refinery. The company supplies nearly 40 percent of the country’s total fuel requirements.

According to the Department of Energy (DOE), the Galoc oil field is expected to produce an average of 17,000 barrels to 20,000 barrels of crude oil daily, equivalent to about six percent of the country’s 300,000-barrel daily requirement.

The oil field is also expected to save the country millions of dollars in import costs.

Initial exploration results show the Galoc field has reserves containing 10 to 20 million barrels, subject to further studies and exploration that can possibly result in additional yields.