Galoc group prepares for new project

MANILA, Philippines - Encouraged by the favorable results of its initial drilling activities, Galoc Production Co. (GPC) will lay out its investment plan of the second phase for the Galoc oil exploration project by next month.

In 2008, the Galoc field in Palawan started producing crude from its two oil wells.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), Philodrill Corp., a member of the GPC consortium, said “a final investment decision is expected to be made in September 2010.”

Philodrill told the PSE that they are now in the process of holding additional feasibility studies on the potential of drilling more wells in the oil field.

The Galoc oil field had been initially estimated to carry reserves of up to 10 million barrels of oil.  

The wells that have been drilled are producing at an average rate of 10,000 barrels per day or a total production of over five million barrels as of end-June this year.

Based on initial studies, GPC will drill two more wells to be able to produce an additional five million barrels or will increase the field’s production by another 4,000 barrels of oil per day.

GPC, a joint venture between Otto Energy Ltd. of Australia and European energy company Vitol Group, has a 59.8 percent interest in the Galoc oil field.

Other members of the GPC consortium are Nido Petroleum Ltd, Oriental Petroleum & Minerals Corp./Linapacan Oil Gas & Power Corp. and Forum Energy Philippines Corp.

Philodrill said GPC will continue to assess the re-processed 3D seismic data covering the petroleum block. The company said the possible location of the two additional wells have already been identified.

GPC recently completed the sale of over a million barrels of Galoc crude to refineries in the region, which represented its 15th shipment of oil from the petroleum block.