DOE okays Nido Petroleum's Tindalo oil development plan

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Energy(DOE) has allowed Australia’s Nido Petroleum Ltd. to proceed with its oil development plan in Tindalo field in Northwest Palawan.

In a statement, Nido Petroleum, which holds a 60-percent stake in Service Contract 54 where the  Tindalo oil field is located, said it would drill Tindalo-1 discovery well as part of the plan. 

The Tindalo exploration block is located adjacent to the Malampaya and Galoc fields – the country’s largest natural gas field and the first domestic oil development project in over a decade, respectively.

“Initial well testing period will then follow to further appraise the reservoir. The planned development shall utilize a shallow water jack-up rig and floating, storage and offloading (vessel) combination,” Nido Petroleum said.

If the drilling proceeds as scheduled, Nido Petroleum said it expects its first oil by early 2010.

Nido Petroleum deputy managing director Joanne Williams said the DOE’s approval is a significant milestone in the Tindalo development and is one of key approvals required by the SC 54 joint venture.

“We look forward to working closely with the department in the coming months in the lead up to project execution, well testing and production operations and the commencement of oil production in 2010,” Williams said.

The company earlier decided to fasttrack the development of the Tindalo oil discovery.

“Contributing to this decision is the board’s confidence in the growth of the upstream oil sector in the Philippines. This comes at a time when industry activity in the country continues to increase, short-term prospects for oil prices are improving and long-term sentiment remains positive,” it said.