Malampaya oil rim eyed to be developed soon

PNOC-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC), the upstream oil and coal arm of state-run Philippine National Oil Co., is presently looking for ways to develop the Camago-Malampaya oil leg, also known as the Malampaya oil rim, a company official said. In an interview with reporters, PNOC-EC chairman and CEO Gemiliano Lopez Jr. said that the company is conducting a technical study on how to proceed with the development of the Malampaya oil rim off the western island of Palawan. "The technical study is underway," he said. PNOC-EC is also reviewing whether Burgundy Global Exploration Corp. is capable of developing the Malampaya oil rim, Lopez added. Burgundy, a Filipino exploration firm, had earlier won a lawsuit restraining PNOC-EC from awarding the development project to Malaysian Mitra Energy Ltd. For its part, Burgundy said it is the most qualified corporation pursuant to the "Filipino First" policy of the Constitution. Lopez reiterated that PNOC-EC would honor its contract with Burgundy. "We respect our contracts." In 2008, PNOC-EC and Burgundy signed a participation agreement, making Burgundy the operator of the oil rim with 84.9-percent interest and with PNOC-EC holding 15.1 percent. PNOC-EC said that some $1 billion is needed to develop the Malampaya oil rim, estimated to contain 20 million to 40 million barrels of oil. The oil rim was discovered in 1991 with the drilling of Malampaya project well. It was, however, considered as a separate development from the much-larger natural gas reserves. PNOC-EC is 99.79 percent owned by the government through PNOC and 0.21 percent is held by individual shareholders. — JE/VS, GMANews.TV