The Philippine National Oil Co. will spearhead the development of the oil rim under the gas reserves of the deepwater Malampaya gas field in the Palawan Sea.
Offshore staff
(Asia-Pacific) - The Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) will spearhead the development of the oil rim under the gas reserves of the deepwater Malampaya gas field in the Palawan Sea, its president and CEO Eduardo Malanac says.
He said the government would like to explore all options in developing the oil rim, given the country was facing a shortage of hydrocarbon reserves.
Malampaya partners Shell and Chevron have reportedly declined to further explore the expensive oil rim development project while international explorers including CNOOC had expressed an interest but under a better fiscal regime.
Industry sources familiar with the ultra-deep exploration activities said investors would be seeking higher-cost recovery oil under a production sharing contract system or very low royalty payments for concession or service-based contracts for undertaking the Malampaya oil rim development.
Cash-strapped PNOC would have to take an a strong partner, such as a CNOOC-type of explorer, which is now on an aggressive campaign to build up reserves within Asia-Pacific basins, said the sources.
