Philex Group hikes stake in UK firm

MANILA, Philippines - Philex Petroleum Corp.has purchased an additional 2.4-percent interest in Forum Energy Plc, raising the Philex Group’s stake to 65 percent.

Forum Energy is a UK-based oil and gas exploration company which recently allowed by the Department of Energy to convert its geophysical survey and exploration contract (GSEC) 101 to Service Contract (SC) 72.

Philex Petroleum, a wholly-owned unit of Philex Mining, holds 39 percent of Forum Energy while 26 percent is held through FEC Resources Inc., a Canadian sister company 51 percent owned by Philex Mining.

The SC 72 license covers an area of 8,800 square kilometres known as the Sampaguita gas field in offshore West Palawan. 

Forum Energy holds 70 percent of SC 72 through wholly-owned Forum (GSEC 101) Ltd.

Philex Mining, the country’s biggest miner, earlier subscribed to 1.2 billion new shares of Philex Petroleum with the increase in the authorized capital stock from P2 billion to P6.8 billion.

 “The proceeds of the subscription will enable Philex Petroleum to acquire oil and petroleum assets as well as support ongoing projects like the drilling of the gas field in Palawan,” Philex Mining president Ernesto Villaluna said.

In 2006, results from a 3D seismic survey over the area confirmed a minimum of 3.4 trillion cubic feet of proven gas in place with significant upside potential.

Forum Energy said it intends to push forward with the appraisal of the gas field to commerciality and ultimately to the delivery of material value to its shareholders.

Given the potential size of the resource and proximity to the Asian markets, Forum Energy said this project is an ideal candidate for a liquefied natural gas facility.

Philex Petroleum also owns 5.3 percent of Pitkin Petroleum Ltd., an international upstream oil and gas company focused on tertiary basis primarily in the Pacific Rim Region, with operations in Vietnam, the Philippines, Peru and the USA.

The investment in Pitkin brought the Philex Group’s total investment to 21 percent taken together with the holdings of Philex Mining.

Philex Petroleum also acquired 21 percent of PetroEnergy Resources Corp., a locally listed company engaged in oil exploration and in providing technical services to companies exploring for oil in the Philippines.

Aside from Philex Petroleum and Pitkin, Philex Mining also has investments in Brixton Energy & Mining Corp. (BEMC) which is allowed to extract coal from a 2,000-hectare property in Zamboanga Sibugay.

Philex Petroleum also has direct stakes in SC 41 in deepwater South Sulu Sea, for which recoverable reserves estimate prior to drilling was reported to be at a maximum of 150 million barrels; SC-6, Cadlao Block-NW Palawan, which is expected to recover between 1.0-1.5 million barrels of oil; and SC-6A, Octon Block-NW Palawan, which is being linked with the Galoc field.