By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — Nido Petroleum Philippines Pty. Ltd. is committing up to $100 million, or approximately ₱6.3 billion, to expand oil exploration in Palawan, with plans to drill new wells to assess the commercial viability of the Cadlao oil field.
The company, operator of Service Contract 91 in the northwest Palawan basin, intends to drill the Cadlao-4 well as the next step in evaluating the field’s potential.
If initial results prove encouraging, Nido Petroleum may conduct an extended well test lasting three to nine months to determine the well’s production capacity. The company has also committed to drilling one to three additional wells in the Cadlao field, subject to a declaration of commerciality.
A document submitted to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources places drilling costs at $18 million to $25 million per well, equivalent to around ₱1.1 billion to ₱1.6 billion.
The government awarded SC 91 in April to a consortium led by Nido Petroleum, with Philodrill, Oriental Petroleum and Minerals Corp., Alcorn Petroleum and Minerals Corp., and Forum Energy Philippines Corp. as partners.
Forum Energy Philippines is a subsidiary of Forum Energy Ltd., in which PXP Energy Corp., chaired by businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan, holds a 98.08-percent economic interest.
The 10-year service contract covers the appraisal, development and production of the Cadlao field, which is estimated to contain 6.2 million barrels of contingent oil resources.
SC 91 lies about 380 kilometers southwest of Manila, approximately 21 kilometers west of El Nido’s farthest island, 11 kilometers southeast of the Malampaya gas field and 40 kilometers southwest of the Galoc oil and gas field.
Nido Petroleum said it had already undertaken extensive exploration in the northwest Palawan basin, including two-dimensional and three-dimensional seismic surveys, drilling and extended well tests.
The company is now targeting smaller, lower-risk pinnacle reef prospects in the shallower waters covered by SC 91. Nido estimates that each target well in the shallow-water area could hold between one million and 50 million barrels of oil.
The exploration program supports the Philippines’ efforts to reduce dependence on imported petroleum. The country has sourced most of its crude oil from the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia identified as its largest supplier, exposing domestic energy supplies to potential disruptions in the region.
Oil accounted for 47.7 percent of the Philippines’ total final energy consumption last year, according to the Department of Energy.
ia/xf
