Drilling in Galoc Oil Field to start end-March

MANILA, Philippines - Australian oil and gas company Nido Petroleum Limited expects to drill a new well at the Galoc Oil Field offshore Palawan by end-March which could extend the life of the oil field.

Nido, the operator of the oil field, said the drillship “Deepsea Metro I” is now being mobilized from Labuan, Malaysia to the Galoc-7/7ST well location in Block C1 of Service Contract (SC) 14 northwest Palawan.

“Nido will update the market once the rig arrives on location at Galoc-7/7ST and commences drilling operations which is expected to occur on March 31,” the company said.

Last January, Nido’s wholly owned subsidiary Galoc Production Company W.L.L. signed a binding rig contract with Golden Close Maritime Corp. Ltd. for the drillship “Deepsea Metro I” to drill a new appraisal well.

Golden Close Maritime is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deepsea Metro Ltd, which is 40 percent owned by the Odfjell Drilling group, a key player in the upstream oil and gas industry since the 1970s.

The contract will last a period of approximately four to five weeks and consists of a firm well and an optional side track.

Nido managing director Mike Fischer earlier said the drilling operations could unlock the potential for extending the oil field life, which is the company’s cornerstone asset.

The Galoc Oil Field is comprised of the producing Central Field Area and the un-drilled northern extension Galoc Mid Area, where drilling of Galoc-7 appraisal well is considered to determine contingent reserves