Government urged to secure gas-rich Recto Bank

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines should protect the oil and gas-rich Recto Bank, which holds the key to the country’s energy independence, Rep. Arnel Ty of party-list group Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers’ Association said yesterday.

“We must secure and defend Recto Bank at all cost. We should assume jurisdiction over the conservation, exploration and exploitation of the seamount’s vast hydrocarbon deposits for the benefit of future Filipino generations,” he said.

He urged the Department of Energy (DOE) to allow oil and gas drilling activities in Recto Bank, which lies just 80 nautical miles northwest of Palawan.

“We should not allow China’s protests and pestering to disrupt our efforts to harness Recto Bank’s oil and gas assets. The consortium that runs the Recto Bank petroleum service contract should be permitted to resume its search for oil and gas supplies,” he added.

Also called Reed Bank, Recto is a large underwater mount that rises just nine to 45 meters short of sea level. While the bank is well within the Philippines’ 200-mile exclusive economic zone, China is also claiming it.

China has been raring to seize and occupy Recto Bank, according to former Parañaque congressman and Arroyo national security adviser Roilo Golez.

Citing geological surveys, the US Energy Information Administration estimates the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) may contain up to 5.4 billion barrels of oil and 55.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, “with the bulk of the resources likely located in the contested Reed Bank at the northeast end of the Spratlys.”

“Actually, studies of extensive seismic data indicate that Recto Bank’s Sampaguita gas field alone has up to 4.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 115 million barrels of oil,” Ty said.

“To put this in perspective, the fully operational Malampaya gas field contains only up to 2.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 85 million barrels of condensate,” he said.

The largest hydrocarbon deposit ever discovered in the Philippines, Malampaya now produces 146 billion cubic feet of gas every year, and the fuel drives three of Luzon’s largest power plants that are based in Batangas, he said.

Forum Energy Plc, the private operator of Service Contract 72, was originally set to drill two exploratory wells in Recto Bank this month.

However, in March, the DOE stopped the exploration, citing the territorial dispute with China and the ongoing United Nations arbitration proceedings.

Forum had to abandon all exploration work “until further notice from the DOE.” Forum has a 70 percent interest in SC 72, with the remaining 30 percent held by Monte Oro Resources and Energy Inc.

Forum is majority owned by Philex Petroleum Corp., a Philippine Stock Exchange-listed entity run by businessman Manuel Pangilinan.