PNOC, partners to start oil well drilling in Baragatan

MANILA, Philippines - PNOC-Exploration Corp. and its partners in Service Contract 63 in Southwest Palawan will commence drilling of the Baragatan oil well on May 14, the exploration arm of Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) said yesterday.

The drilling marks the first offshore exploration well to be drilled in the country this year, PNOC-EC president Pedro A. Aquino Jr. said.

“PNOC is steadfast and committed to accelerate exploration in the country to secure the Philippines’ energy requirements. We are hopeful that Baragatan 1 will prove to be a successful discovery,” Aquino said.

For the drilling, the consortium will use the Naga 5 rig, which is owned and operated by United Motor Works of Malaysia. It is a newly fabricated jack-up rig capable of fully evaluating the hydrocarbon potential of the large Baragatan prospect, PNOC-EC said.

Nido Petroleum Philippines Pty. Ltd. will act as drilling operator of the well on behalf of the consortium.

The rig sailed from Singapore on May 2 and will arrive at the site in 10 days. The drilling operations are expected to last around 20 days, PNOC-EC also said.

Partners in the SC 63 oil and gas area are PNOC-EC, Nido Petroleum Philippines Pty. Ltd. and Dragon Oil Plc.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded SC 63, also known as East Sabina, to PNOC-EC (50 percent) and Nido Petroleum Philippines Pty. Ltd. (50 percent) in 2006, with PNOC-EC as operator.

Last month, the DOE approved the farm-in of United Arab Emirates-based Dragon Oil Plc. into the consortium. Thus, the consortium is now made up of PNOC-EC (50 percent), Dragon Oil Plc. (40 percent) and Nido Petroleum Philippines Pty. Ltd. (10 percent).