|
THE Department of Energy yesterday awarded five petroleum
exploration service contracts that were auctioned two years ago to
four oil companies.
These were the Miocene Mining and Energy Corp. (MMEC),
Helios Petroleum and Gas Corp. (HPGC), Burgundy Global Exploration
Corp. (BGEC), and NorAsian Energy Limited (NEL).
Except for the four companies, the other firms
that were offered the petroleum blocks during the Philippine Energy
Contracting Round (PECR) 2006 have yet to receive their service
contracts.
PECR is a regular public contracting round
initiated by the government to attract investors in the upstream oil
and gas industry.
The two companies, Miocene Mining and Helios
Petroleum, awarded the exploration areas in the Cagayan Basin and
offshore Mindanao, respectively, are subsidiaries of Burgundy
Global, which was awarded two petroleum exploration areas in the
Sulu Seas southwest of Palawan
On the other hand, NorAsian, a wholly owned
subsidiary of Australian firm Ottoman Energy Ltd. and its local
partner Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp., was awarded
service contracts for areas surrounded by the islands of Cebu, Bohol,
and Leyte.
The DOE has projected a seven-year exploration
investment of $79.20 million for the awarded contracts. This adds to
a total of $456.85 million in exploration investments that have
poured into the country since 2004.
In simple ceremonies during the awarding of the
service contracts, Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes said the government
is looking at the private sector to participate in its energy
independence program aimed at reducing overdependence on imported
fuels.
The government has awarded 33 active service
contract areas to various oil firms to date, whose combined
drillings across the country pale in comparison with similar
activities in the region.
-- Euan Paulo C. Añonuevo
|
