ExxonMobil to drill 3rd oil well in South Sulu Sea

Preparations are underway for drilling a new exploratory well in the South Sulu Sea oil field, the Department of Energy said Wednesday. ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Philippines B.V., which holds the rights to service contract 56 (SC 56) within the field, will drill a third well in the Sandakan Basin at an estimated cost of $100 million. Energy Undersecretary Ramon Oca said ExxonMobil’s drill rig arrived in the basin area last month. "It's here, but there are so many preparations," Oca said. The exploratory drilling for the well, called Palendag-1, is scheduled to start this month, the Energy Department said. Energy records showed that ExxonMobil would continue its exploration commitment with the department by drilling Palendag-1 using the semi-submersible drill rig West Aquarius, the same rig including its anchor handling tugs and support vessels FOS Universe Sea Turbot, Sea Pollock, and Highland Guide that ExxonMobil used in drilling its first two wells under SC 56. SC 56 covers 8,200 square kilometers and is located about 900 kilometers southwest of Manila and 200 kilometers northwest of Bongao, the capital of Tawi-Tawi province. ExxonMobil's latest drilling operations follow the first oil flow from Nido Petroleum Ltd.'s Tinadalo field in the Palawan Basin on May 30. While there was no flow rate report yet for ExxonMobil’s first two wells ─ Dabakan-1 and Banduria -1 ─ Oca said the positive drilling results, which showed signs of hydrocarbon find, piqued the interest of foreign oil companies regarding the South Sulu field. There were many queries, especially in SCs near that of ExxonMobil’s, and "negotiations" are ongoing he said, but declined to give further details. The company, the world’s largest publicly-traded international oil and gas firm, spent $200 million to drill Dabakan-1 and Banduria-1. Mitra Energy Ltd. and BHP Billiton International Exploration Pty Ltd. hold a 25-percent stake each in SC 56. —VS, GMANews.TV