SIX POTENTIAL petroleum and hydrogen service contracts are currently being evaluated, with three having reached the Office of the President (OP), the Department of Energy (DoE) said.
“There are three contracts that are being evaluated at the Office of the President. And in the department, there’s another three in the application and evaluation stage,” Energy Undersecretary Alessandro O. Sales said at a briefing.
One of the contracts with the OP is a development and production petroleum service contract — a type of agreement applied to expiring contracts where production is ongoing — and the other two involve hydrogen.
Under Presidential Decree No. 87, also known as the Oil Exploration and Development Act of 1972, any contracts resulting from public bidding must obtain the President’s approval.
The three contracts currently at DoE level involve petroleum.
“We’re continuing with the momentum of opening up the areas,” Mr. Sales said.
Last week, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. signed eight new petroleum service contracts with an investment commitment of around $207 million over the period of exploration.
The awarded service contracts are potential petroleum and hydrogen resources in the Sulu Sea, Cagayan, Cebu, Northwest Palawan, East Palawan, and Central Luzon.
Service contractors can commence their respective work programs, which include geological and geophysical studies, seismic surveys, and drilling activities, as appropriate, to assess the potential of the contracted areas.
“It’s a long process, but hopefully, when we look at all of these areas, we believe that one or two of these will proceed and… become a commercial field,” Mr. Sales said.
Noel M. Baga, co-convenor of think tank Center for Energy Research and Policy, said the awarded petroleum service contract support the Philippine goal of strengthening energy security and reducing dependency on imported energy.
“Beyond energy security, this initiative demonstrates the government’s commitment to the petroleum sector, which will attract further investment in the industry,” he told BusinessWorld via Viber.
“Success in these exploration activities could create a multiplier effect, encouraging additional investments in infrastructure and technology while creating jobs and keeping energy revenues within our economy,” he added. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera