PANGILINAN-LED PXP Energy Corp. said on Wednesday that it is preparing to drill an oil well in Palawan by the first quarter of 2024.
The company had initially planned to start drilling this year. “However, due to the current tight rig market, we anticipate drilling to start within the first quarter of 2024,” Daniel Stephen P. Carlos, president of PXP Energy, said during the company’s virtual annual stockholders’ meeting.
At the same time, the company said that it is awaiting the approval of the Department of Energy (DoE) for three service contracts (SC) for oil and petroleum resources.
“[W]e eagerly await the approval of three service contracts in the northwest Palawan, Sulu Sea, and Recto Bank areas,” Mr. Carlos said.
“These service contracts will play an important role in revitalizing our operations and diversifying our asset portfolio,” he added.
In March 2021, SC 6A, which covers an area of about 1,080 square kilometers and contains the Octon field, was surrendered to the DoE as its term contract is set to expire in February of next year.
“This has created a limited window of opportunity for us to drill an exploratory well and develop a field if a discovery is made,” Mr. Carlos said.
He said that both PXP Energy and its subsidiary, Forum (GSEC 101) Ltd., are now participating in a new SC application that will cover the former SC 6-A.
The oil and gas company said it is also seeking an additional area to the east, which was surrendered by the SC 74 consortium last year.
“We currently have two other service contract applications pending with the DoE. The first block is a nominated area adjacent to SC 72, once awarded our plan is to acquire new 2D seismic data,” Mr. Carlos said.
The SC 72 covers the Recto Bank, within its block is the Sampaguita gas discovery, which is estimated to contain about 2.6 trillion cubic feet of contingent gas resources.
The other block that PXP Energy plans to acquire is in area in Sulu sea, which Mr. Carlos said was offered by the DoE through a bidding in 2019.
At the local bourse on Wednesday, shares in the company gained 10 centavos or 0.21% to end at P4.77 apiece. — Ashley Erika O. Jose