MANUEL V PANGILINAN-LED PXP Energy Corp. has increased its stock ownership in its gas and oil exploration unit based in Canada that is exploring a petroleum block in the contested West Philippine Sea.
The company told the stock exchange on Thursday that it acquired 450 million new shares of FEC Resources, Inc. via a stock rights offering at $1.01 million (around P50 million) or $0.00225 each share.
This raised its shareholding to 78.39% from 54.99% of the holding firm.
PXP Energy’s share subscription also led to a 1.59% increase in its economic interest to 77.66% in Forum Energy Ltd. (FEL), a United Kingdom-based exploration firm operating in the Philippines, in which FEC Resources has a 6.8% interest.
FEC Resources owns a 70% interest in Service Contract (SC) 72 in Reed Bank in the West Philippine Sea, which likely bears as much as 3 trillion cubic feet of gas resources. The Sampaguita gas prospect is also situated in the 880,000-hectare block.
Aside from paying administrative expenses, FEC Resources said it will use the proceeds from the share purchase partly to fund its participation in any fund-raising activity of FEL to maintain its ownership in the company.
To recall, PXP Energy will conduct a 2,600-square-kilometer 3D seismic survey in the petroleum block for oil potential, according to Daniel P. Carlos, its president and director, during the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting last month. Currently, exploration activities in the area are suspended upon the invocation of a force majeure due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Moreover, FEC Resources also holds a 66.7% interest in SC 40 in North Cebu (SC 40) and a minority stake in the Galoc block in SC 14 in northwest Palawan.
On Thursday, shares in PXP Energy went up 3.93% to close at P5.56 apiece. — Adam J. Ang
