Philodrill eyes Palawan oil contract extension
LISTED exploration company Philodrill Corp., which operates a petroleum block northwest of Palawan province, will seek an extension of its service contract with the government.
The company would apply for the 50-year extension once its contract expires in 2024, its partner PetroEnergy Resources Corp. said in a stock exchange filing on Monday.
PetroEnergy, which has a 16.67% interest in the block, said the plan came after a contracted study by LMKR, a Dubai-based petroleum technology company, showed four potential oil reservoirs in the 108,146-hectare area.
Philodrill in June raised its work program and budget for the oil block, reallocating some funds from previous technical works.
“The LMKR study is being seen as a technical basis to justify a planned application for a 50-year extension of the service contract, due to expire in 2024, in order for the joint venture to drill and produce beyond 2024,” PetroEnergy said.
In early August, Philodrill said it had shared data from the Octon block under a confidentiality deal with NWP Ventures Ltd., an affiliate of British company Manta Oil Co. Ltd., which expressed interest in exploring the field.
Philodrill posted a P44.3-million net loss in the first half due to drying oil wells and plunging crude prices. Revenue fell by 54% to P60.1 million, it said.
Petroleum earnings fell by three-fifths to P40 million, mainly due to a price slump and lower output volume during the period.
Combined gross production volume fell to 350,957 barrels with an average price of $33.64 a barrel during the period. By end-June, its crude oil inventory stood at P4.1 million.
The company also reported P2.4 million in deferred oil exploration costs. The plug and abandonment activities at two oil wells in Palawan’s Nido block under Service Contract 14 were suspended due to coronavirus quarantine restrictions.
Together with Galoc Production Company, it raised the budget for the operations, which will resume in September.
The listed oil developer is involved in nine petroleum service contracts awarded by the Philippine Department of Energy.
Philodrill shares were unchanged at P0.0094 each on Friday. Trading was suspended on Monday, a holiday. — Adam J. Ang