UK firm to start exploration work in Palawan

MANILA, Philippines - London-based Pitkin Petroleum Plc. will start exploration activities in its Service Contract (SC) 53 in Mindoro Island near Palawan.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), Philex Mining Corp. which has a 21 percent stake in Pitkin, said the exploration firm will also start drilling a second well in its recent oil and gas discovery in Vietnam.

Pitkin has completed a 3D seismic survey to define the resource potential of the discovery and of adjacent structures.

Pitkin said the program recorded a total of 1,100 square kilometers of data and the provisionally processed data set has been interpreted ahead of site selection for the second exploration well.

The discovery well tested a combined 3,265 barrels of oil per day plus 8.1 million standard cubic feet of gas per day from two zones in multiple stacked reservoir sands.

Pitkin said the second commitment well is planned for November 2009.

Block 07/03 covers an area of 4,915 square kilometers and lies between the Nam Con Son Basin hydrocarbon fields and the East Natuna Basin discoveries in Vietnam.

Pitkin’s wholly-owned subsidiary Vietnam American Exploration Co. has a participating interest of 40 percent in the block, with the balance held by lead operator Premier Oil (30 percent), Pearl Oil (15 percent) and Pan Pacific Petroleum (15 percent).

In the Philippines, Pitkin has awarded an onshore 2D seismic survey contract to BGP Inc. of China, which will involve the acquisition of 200 km of seismic data in SC 53.

SC 53 covers an area of 7,240 sq. km., mostly onshore and adjacent to the Palawan Basin, which hosts all the producing oil and gas wells in the Philippines.

Numerous onshore oil and gas seeps plus two gas discoveries are located in the contract area, and more than 15 prospective structures with individual areas of closure of between seven and 65 sq. km. have been identified from previous work.

Pitkin has a participating interest of 70 percent in the block, with the remaining 30 percent held by The Philodrill Corporation, Basic Consolidated, Inc. and Anglo Philippine Holdings Corporation.

Pitkin operates three service contracts in the Philippines. These comprise a total area of approximately 20,000 sq. km. both onshore and offshore.

Meanwhile, a 3D marine seismic acquisition survey over Pitkin’s Peru Block Z-38 is expected to begin in November 2009. The survey will involve the acquisition of at least 670 sq. km. of data over the main prospects. A 2D seismic survey over the block was completed in March 2009, with 2,393 kilometers of data recorded.