Philodrill reports turn around in 1H net income

Philodrill Corp. said in a statement Monday that it registered P222.2 million in net income for the first half of the year, a turnaround from a net loss of P600,000 a year earlier. In a report to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), Philodrill attributed the substantial increase in earnings to revenues from its Galoc oil field production. The company’s shares are traded on the PSE. Galoc field is the country's first oil development project in over a decade, churning out 5,142,780 barrels of crude as of June 30. It started production in October 2008. The oil field is operated by Galoc Production Co. (GPC), which has a 59.8 percent interest in the project. GPC is a joint venture of Otto Energy Ltd. of Australia and European energy company Vitol Group. Aside from Philodrill, GPC's partners in Galoc are Nido Petroleum Ltd., Oriental Petroleum & Minerals Corp./Linapacan Oil Gas & Power Corp., and Forum Energy Philippines Corp. Higher crude prices, Philodrill said, also helped boost its income in the first half when crude prices averaged $78.5 per barrel from $48.4 per barrel a year earlier. At present, Philodrill owns shares in oil exploration blocks in offshore Palawan and Sulu Sea and onshore Mindoro. Its Service Contracts 14 and 14C, covering the Nido, Matinloc, North Matinloc, and Galoc fields, have been producing oil. Philodrill said the combined gross output of these fields increased to 1,654,016 barrels from 146,930 barrels in the same comparable period. A major portion of Philodrill's revenues, which rose 511 percent to P424.9 million from P69.5 million, came from Galoc where the company has a 7.21 percent stake. According to Philodrill, its share in Galoc increased with the production and revenues booked since production tests were terminated in June 2009. —VS, GMANews.TV