Frontier Oil acquires 100% of SC 50

MANILA, Philippines - Frontier Oil Corp. announced yesterday that it has acquired 100 percent of the 5,000-square kilometer Service Contract 50 in Northwestern Palawan, including the proven Calauit oil fields, from Frigstad Energy, an international oil drilling company.

The SC 50 and Calauit acquisitions expand Frontier Oil’s portfolio ahead of a P2-billion initial public offering (IPO) planned before the third quarter of the year.

Frontier Oil is also an oil and gas exploration firm, which has a 20-year history in the Philippines through various oil and gas projects. It also has a subsidiary that is involved in projects in China.

In a statement, Frontier Oil said the “Calauit Fields – which comprise both the Calauit 1B and Calauit South-1A discoveries – have been the subject of comprehensive technical analysis over an extended period, mitigating risk factors to a substantial degree and proving the existence of a compelling commercial quantity of recoverable oil.”

Frontier Oil said while previous assessments had indicated a total potential of between 3.1 million and seven million barrels of oil in place, further in-depth studies have suggested an upside potential in excess of 14 million barrels.

“These studies have also allowed Frontier Oil to engineer the intended development wells to target the most efficient drilling locations and optimize production rates accordingly,” the company said.

Aside from acquiring 100 percent stake in SC 50, Frontier Oil also announced that it has completed a detailed review into its existing SC 52 Nassipping project.

The review includes the compilation of a competent person’s report which attributed a volume potential of 58 billion cubic feet of gas for Nassipping.

Frontier Oil stated that further information relating to the SC 52 program would be made available in a subsequent release.

Kristoffer Fellowes, Frontier Oil Corp. chief executive officer, said the acquisition of the Calauit field is part of the company’s strategy to become a significant oil and gas player.

“Along with the recent encouraging results shown by the SC 52 competent person’s report, the company stands well placed in anticipation of its IPO in late second quarter 2013,” Fellowes said.