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PHILODRILL Corp. has resumed production in its
oilfields in offshore Palawan after complying with maritime
standards.
In a disclosure to the Philippine
Stock Exchange, Philodrill said it has resumed operations at its
Nido and Matinloc oil fields after a two- month break to meet the
double-hull requirements of the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina)
for shipping vessels.
“Philodrill is now using only
double hulled vessels in compliance with local laws and
international agreements,” Adrian Arias, Philodrill corporate
secretary, said.
With the continuation of
Nido and Matinloc’s operations, Philodrill said that it will
likewise resume delivery to Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., which
buys crude from the former.
In line with this, Philodrill
said that it will soon be delivering 12,500 barrels of crude to the
oil refiner.
Last year, the Nido and
Matinloc fields produced about 185,000 barrels of oil, slightly
higher than its 2006 output.
Nelson Trinidad, Philodrill
geophysicist said the company is looking to increase production from
the said oil fields to over 200,000 barrels this year to take
advantage of high crude prices.
“Last year production was only
slightly higher by 3,000 barrels from 2006. This year we plan to
have a moderate increase because we are encouraged by the high
prices,” he said.
Trinidad said the proposed
increase would have to depend on the “availability of vessels”
from the fields to the Shell refinery in Bataan.
Besides the oil fields,
Philodrill also holds interests in petroleum exploration blocks in
the Sulu area and the Galoc and Octon fields, also in offshore
Palawan, among others.
Philodrill’s shares were
unchanged Friday, trading at P0.03.
--Euan Paulo C. Añonuevo
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