Moratorium on West Philippine Sea energy exploration ‘still in place’ – DOE

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Energy (DOE) has maintained that the moratorium on oil and gas exploration in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) remains in effect, countering reports that Malacañang has lifted the ban.

“As far as the DOE is concerned, the moratorium is still in place,” Energy Undersecretary Alessandro Sales told The STAR.

This followed a Vera Files report from an unnamed source, saying the government has lifted the moratorium issued in 2014 by former president Benigno Aquino III amid escalating tensions with China.

Speculations regarding the status of the ban surfaced after the share price of Manuel V. Pangilinan’s upstream oil and gas company PXP Energy Corp. surged by 50 percent last Wednesday.

PXP operates Service Contract (SC) 72 Recto Bank, indirectly through Forum Energy Ltd., and directly holds SC 75 Northwest Palawan. Both assets remain under force majeure due to ongoing geopolitical issues in the contested waters.

As a result, PXP’s plans to conduct further assessments of the hydrocarbon potential in these two areas, including drilling two wells in the Sampaguita Field in SC 72, were disrupted.

The lifting of the moratorium will allow Forum Energy to engage survey vessels and commence drilling operations in the contract area.

In a regulatory filing yesterday, PXP said the company and its direct or intermediary units did not receive any written or verbal notice from Malacañang or the DOE regarding the resumption of exploration activities in the WPS covering SC 72 and SC 75. 

“Neither is the company aware of the existence of, nor does it possess, any undisclosed information relating to said article,” PXP said.

Earlier, PXP said it would turn its attention to its other contracts in Northwest Palawan and Cebu, as well as in new areas where the company can explore while waiting for positive developments.

The company is also studying and evaluating new oil and gas projects within the country for potential acquisition or farm-in agreements.