Forum Energy PLC & Philex seeks partners for Oil and Gas Service Contract 72 PHL

Oil and Gas Exploration – Philippines: Forum Energy Plc is scouting for a partner for Service Contract (SC) 72 off Palawan to be able to continue the Oil and Gas exploration activities in the area. a top company official said.

“The company is also assessing potential partnerships in SC 72 to accelerate the development of the project, although there are no proposals currently in place,” Forum chairman Robert Nicholson said in a report.

But he stressed they are optimistic that SC 72 would continue to be one of the company’s major achievements.

“The completion of our first sub-phase work program over SC 72 will be a milestone for the company, since the last data acquisition which was concluded over   five years ago. We expect that this data will give us significant additional information that will enable the company to better assess the various development scenarios and potential partnership options for the SC 72 block at   a critical time in the development of this important asset,” he said.

Forum (through its 100-percent interest in Forum Philippine Holdings Ltd and Forum (GSEC101) Ltd). holds a 70 percent equity in the SC 72 licence. Philex Mining Corp. (through its interests in FEC Resources Inc and Philex Petroleum Corp.) controls 64.45 percent of the share capital of Forum.

SC 72, covers an area of 8,800 square kilometers and contains the Sampaguita gas discovery and a number of additional leads.

In 2008, a joint venture was formed with Monte Oro Resources and Energy Inc. (MORE) which qualified it for the Filipino Participation Incentive Allowance (FPIA). Through a 30-percent farm-out to MORE, the joint venture receives 7.5 percent of gross revenues shared with the government.

In February 2010, the exploration license was converted into a service contract.

Forum Energy had been stressing that SC 72 is not situated in the disputed Spratlys Group of Islands. It said the contract is located in the Reed Bank basin which is at least 150 kilometers east of the disputed Spratlys Island and is closer to the island of Palawan.

Reed Bank has been subject of numerous exploration campaigns in the past under the Philippine contractual regime. The first petroleum contract in the area was awarded by the then Ministry of Energy in 1975.

Forum (through its 100-percent interest in Forum Philippine Holdings Ltd. and Forum (GSEC101 Ltd.) holds a 70 percent equity in the SC 72 licence. Philex Mining Corp. (through its interests in FEC Resources Inc. and Philex Petroleum Corp.) controls 64.45 percent fo the share capital of Forum.

Philex mining provided a financing facility worth $10 million that enabled Forum to progress the development of Service Contract 72.

 

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Charoen Pok-phand Group will Invest ₱1.45 billion in the Phl

Investment: Thai agriculture firm Charoen Pok-phand (CP) Group will be investing ₱1.45 billion in the Philippines and will hire 1,800 more employees while the Siam Cement Group (SCG) said they will infuse an additional P1 billion to expand its operations in the country, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) announced yesterday.

CP Group and SCG are just two of the large conglomerates which committed to invest in the Philippines when President Aquino together with some of his cabinet members including Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo visited Thailand last month.

CP Foods PLC president and CEO Adirek Sripratak expressed their commitment to further invest and introduce technology to aid the Filipino farmers. The CP Group intends to pour in P 1.45 billion worth of investment in the agribusiness and food industry. CP will go into shrimp and fish farming, shrimp and fish hatchery operations, feed milling, poultry and hog raising. The Group will also increase its Filipino workforce from 200 to 2,000 by 2012.

The other firm that met with the Philippine contingent was PTT Public Co, Ltd. (PCL). With the aim of promoting medical tourism in the country, the President and his economic team also met with the executives of Bumrungrad Hospital, Asia's biggest private hospital group and leader in medical tourism.

Similarly, the meeting with the SCG centered on their expansion plans in the Philippines. SCG President and CEO Kan Trakulhoon mentioned that they could bring in the "dry cement manufacturing technology" which is more efficient and environmentally friendly. Kan also pointed out that SCG is currently focusing on value added products and the expansion of its operations in ASEAN countries as part of their company's strategy. The SCG is one of the biggest foreign investors in the Philippines with more than $200 million investments, according to Kan.

Kan also said that they own several companies in the Philippines engaged in manufacturing activities such as kraft paper (United Pulp and Paper Co.), concrete roof tiles (CPAC Mornier Philippines), ceramic tiles and bathroom fixtures (Mariwasa Manufacturing Inc.).

"Mariwasa in the Philippines is already running on full capacity and there are plans to expand the facilities of Mariwasa," Kan said. The company also plans to put up a P1-billion box plant to support their kraft paper manufacturing business in the Philippines.

 

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Philippine Export growth rises to 19% $4.3 Billion in April 2011

Business & Economy: Philippines - Merchandise exports rose by an annual 19.1 percent in April 2011, their fastest growth rate this year, as shipments to Japan remained strong despite the natural and nuclear disasters there,  as announced by the Govt last Thursday June 9, 2011.

The Philippines’ export bill rose to $4.3 Billion Dollars in April from $3.611 billion a year ago, after the 4.1 percent annual rise in March, data from the National Statistics Office showed.

Month on month, however, April exports were down 1.2 percent from March’s $4.353 billion.

Electronics shipments, which dominate exports, fell 2.1 percent from last year, the third successive monthly decline. Electronics made up 49.9 percent of April revenues.

Exports to Japan, the country’s top market during the month, rose 20.2 percent in April to $741.88 million. Exports to the United States, the second-biggest export destination, were down 1.3 percent from a year earlier.

Analysts said the crisis in Japan had affected trade, but the impact was limited so far, and strong growth levels are expected later this year.

“While the electronics sector suffered from the supply chain disruption following the

Japan’s earthquake... non-electronic exports have seen strong performance,” said Vincent Tsui, Standard Chartered Bank economist.

“This reflects the impact of Japan’s earthquake on headline economic growth to be much moderate, with limited impact on net exports, and trade performance set to rebound in the upcoming months as Japan’s manufacturers gradually report restoration of production facilities, this should support revival of processing trade in electronic products going forward.”

“Surprisingly, exports to Japan climbed 20.2 percent year-on-year, though slipped on the month, and we expect the slowdown in purchases from the key export destination to reflect in the rest of the quarter,” added Radhika Rao, economist at Forecast Pte, Singapore.

Exports are estimated to climb between nine percent to ten percent this year, and 12 percent next year. Imports are expected to rise 17 percent to 18 percent in 2011, and 18 percent in 2012. Exports grew 34 percent and imports 27 percent in 2010.

The Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines is still hopeful of hitting at least the lower end of its export growth target of eight percent to 12 percent this year, but the head of the industry group has said it would be difficult to achieve.

The Philippines provides about 10 percent of the world’s semiconductor manufacturing services, including for mobile phone chips and micro processors.

Other top Philippine exports include garments and accessories, wood furniture, vehicle parts, coconut oil, and tropical fruits.

Exports account for about two-fifths of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), based on expenditure terms.

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