Dutch Company Wins Exploration Contract

Yesterday in Manila, the first petroleum service contract in the country in six years was signed. The contract , awarded to Dutch firm Premier Oil, sparked hopes of renewed interest in oil and gas exploration in the Philippines.

The new contract will bring in initial investments of about $ 4.6 million to $ 12.6 million.

Energy Secretary Vince Perez Jr. and Premier Oil director Peter Cockroft signed the contract, which covers Ragay Gulf and parts of Bondoc Peninsula in Quezon.

The exploration area covers 1,088,000 hectares and lies within the Southeast Luzon basin, one of the frontier sedimentary basins in the country.

Perez said the signing of a new service contract represents the beginning of a new phase of petroleum exploration in the Philippines. "Several studies had been made confirming the considerable petroleum reserves in the country. We are positive that the Ragay Gulf is a promising site that may one day deliver oil and boosts our energy self-sufficiency," he said.

The exploration contract covers a seven-year period and extendible for another three years to give the Dutch firm more time to test the commercial viability of the field in the event of an oil discovery.