Spex to drill Silangan-1 oil well

Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (Spex) will start drilling the Silangan-1 oil well in Northeast Palawan next July, a government official said Wednesday. Energy Undersecretary Ramon Oca told reporters that the semi-submersible drill rig Atwood Falcon, used in the Camago exploration, will be used for the Silangan project to save on costs. Originally scheduled in the first quarter, drilling the Silangan-1 well was postponed because unavailability of drill rig was unavailable. Spex holds a 55-percent stake in Silangan under service contract 60, while South China Resources Inc. holds 15 percent and Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Co., 30 percent. Kuwait Petroleum is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Kuwait Petroleum Corp., which in turn is owned by the State of Kuwait. The consortium has pledged at least $24 million to the seven-year exploration of Silangan. —Nikka Corsino/VS, GMANews.TV