THE Philodrill Corp. recorded P44.3 million in after-tax loss in the first semester as its revenues from petroleum plunged on the collapse of crude prices and drying production.
In a regulatory filing to the stock exchange, the listed oil exploration firm said its total revenues went down 54% to P60.1 million between January and June.
Its petroleum earnings declined by three-fifths to P40 million, mainly due to price slump and lower output volume in the period. By end-June, its crude oil inventory declined by P4.1 million.
Philodrill reported a lower combined gross production volume of 350,957 barrels with an average price of $33.64 per barrel, compared with $64.46 per barrel in the same period last year.
The company also reported an additional P2.4 million in deferred oil exploration costs. In the period, the plug and abandonment activities in two oil wells in Palawan’s Nido block under Service Contract (SC) 14 were suspended due to quarantine restrictions. Together with Galoc Production Company, it raised the budget for the operations, which will resume in September.
Meanwhile, Philodrill is pushing through a quantitative interpretation/reservoir characterization study of the Octon block in northwest Palawan under SC 6-A, which it operates, after a proof of concept study was done in March.
It transmitted the block’s data under a confidentiality deal with NWP Ventures Ltd., an affiliate of British firm Manta Oil Co. Ltd., which expressed interest in exploring the field.
Shares in Philodrill rose by 10.34% to close at P0.0096 each on Wednesday. — Adam J. Ang
