ACE Enexor, Inc. has acquired a 75% interest in an offshore exploration contract in Palawan after Energy department approved the assignment by one of the partners of its stake to the Ayala-led company.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange, the former Phinma Petroleum and Geothermal, Inc. (PPG) said it had received yesterday the Department of Energy’s (DoE) nod of the assignment by Century Red, Pte. Ltd. of its 37.5% interest in Service Contract No. 55 (SC 55).
“Palawan55 now holds a 75% interest in SC 55, with Pryce Gases, Inc. holding the remaining 25%,” ACE Enexor said.
Palawan55 is the operator of the exploration service contract. Under its previous name, ACE Enexor had said Century Red was withdrawing as co-contractor in SC 55, leaving Palawan55 and Pryce Gases as the remaining co-contractors.
Based on the company’s information statement submitted to the Philippine Stock Exchange in July last year, SC 55 is one of four service contracts that the company intends to maintain its participation in the next 12 months.
It said in the event that the contracts are successful, the company will reap revenues that will more than offset the incurred losses. The service contracts are in the exploratory stage, that is, without any commercial production.
On Aug. 9, the SC 55 consortium notified the DoE of its entry into the appraisal period of the project effective on Aug. 26. The co-contractors committed to drill one deep-water well within the first two years of the appraisal period.
After the reinterpretation of certain seismic data outside of the current study area, they may undertake a new 3D seismic program to mature other prospects within SC 55 to drillable status. The SC 55 consortium submitted an indicative appraisal work program to the DoE to support the commitment.
The Ayalas’ energy arm AC Energy, Inc. acquired 51.48% of PPG from its previous owners Phinma, Inc. and Phinma Corp. in a deal cleared by the Philippine Competition Commission in April 2019. PPG’s name change to ACE Enexor was approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission on Nov. 11, 2019.
On Tuesday, shares in ACE Enexor rose by 2.04% to close at P6.99 each. — Victor V. Saulon
