Tindalo crude oil sold to South Korean buyer, says Nido

Australia's Nido Petroleum Ltd., operator of the Tindalo oil field in northwest Palawan, has already sold some 200,000 to 230,000 barrels of crude to a buyer in South Korea. In its disclosure to the Australian Stock Exchange on Friday, Nido said the service contract, SC 54, pertaining to the Tindalo oil field, approved the deeper "re-perforation, water shutoff via cement squeeze, and sidetrack drilling" in the area. Nido, however, did not name the firm that bought crude oil from its Tindalo oil field. Nido said the improvements are aimed at increasing and stabilizing oil production from the Tindalo oil field that has been hampered by the presence of "produced water," or water that is produced along with the oil and gas. "Nido, as operator, is currently mobilizing the necessary equipment and services to the field location for this work. In-field operations are scheduled to commence in the first half of September and, subject to weather, anticipated to take 10 to 17 days to complete," Nido said. Nido holds a 42.4-percent stake in SC 54. Its partner Kairiki Energy Ltd. holds a 30.1-percent interest, TG World Energy Corp. having 12.5 percent, and Trafigura Ventures III B.V. with 15.1-percent share in the venture. Previously, Nido estimated Tindalo's full-field recoverable volumes between 1.5 and 9.1 million barrels with a mid-case of approximately 5.1 million barrels. The company discovered the oil field in October 2008, and the partners proceeded with the well development in December 2009. It has identified over 20 prospects in shallow waters, with an estimated 200 million barrels of potential oil reserves. Earlier, Nido officials refused to say if the company would sell its crude to the country's two oil refiners, Petron Corp. and Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. Petron and Pilipinas Shell are still waiting for the Tindalo crude grade. Officials of the local refineries also want to know how the tests were made, and whether the refineries here can process the oil. "We will need to see the specs of the crude first," Petron president Eric Recto said, when asked it Petron will buy the Tindalo crude. —JE/VVP, GMANews.TV