THE Philippines on Wednesday formally awarded a petroleum service contract (PSC) to Israeli firm Ratio Petroleum Ltd. for the exploration of an area in the east Palawan basin, a move which the Energy department said bodes well for country’s upstream petroleum industry.
The ceremonial signing, which took place at the Heroes Hall of Malacañan Palace, was led by President Rodrigo R. Duterte and Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi on behalf of the Philippines, and Itay Raphael Tabibzada, president and chief executive officer of Ratio Petroleum.
Mr. Cusi said the awarding of the service contract also boosts the economic relations between the Philippines and Israel. The PSC for Area 4 in the Palawan basin is part of the DoE’s fifth Philippine Energy Contracting Round (PECR), which was launched in May 2014.
“The President has been very clear — our country needs to attain energy security and sustainability at the soonest possible time. We are currently experiencing how our dependence on importation has left us at the mercy of price movements in the global oil markets. We need to boost the exploration and development of our own energy resources and the awarding of the petroleum service contract to Ratio Petroleum is a step in the right direction,” he said.
The PECR was established as a transparent and competitive system of awarding service or operating contracts for prospective petroleum or coal areas within the country.
The DoE said Ratio Petroleum would now be able to explore Area 4, covering 416,000 hectares across the east Palawan basin for potential oil and gas resources.
The exploration project is expected to cost $34.35 million, which will be used for studies, data gathering and drilling activities over the initial seven-year contract period.
The DoE said Ratio Petroleum was established in 1992 and has a number of large-scale operations at the Levant basin in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Israel, as well as offshore operations in the Republic of Malta and the Co-operative Republic of Guyana.
“This is the first petroleum service contract signed under the Duterte administration. In fact, the last service contract awarded was with PXP Energy Corp. This was almost five years ago in 2013,” Mr. Cusi said.
PXP Energy is the operator of PSC No. 75 in north western Palawan under the fourth PECR. The service contract was signed on Dec. 27, 2013. — Victor V. Saulon

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