SC72 Reed Bank Oil and Natural Gas exceed 2.7 Trillion cubic feet

The Department of Energy on Monday confirmed that the natural gas reserves in Recto Bank / Reed bank  are bigger than those in Malampaya.

The energy department's revelation came on the heels of remarks by a member of the private consortium exploring oil in the area that it may have made a "world-class discovery."

Officials of Atok-Big Wedge Co. had told shareholders during its annual meeting that a report from experts commissioned to assess Service Contract (SC) 72 in Reed Bank has yielded a "world-class discovery."

According to Energy Undersecretary Jay Layug, it is very likely that the natural gas at Recto Bank exceeds the 2.7-trillion cubic feet in the Malampaya Natural Gas Field that has for years provided the country billions in revenue.

"We are hoping for equal, if not at least a bit higher natural gas from Sampaguita Field," Layug said Monday, referring to the area in Recto Bank where a consortium of three firms--- Forum Energy, Monte de Oro and Walter Brown---have been exploring.

The DoE said a new, substantial find in natural gas is important to the Philippines because the supply coming from Malampaya is estimated to run out by 2024.

Malampaya now supplies 40 percent of power to provide electricity to Luzon. Of the  2.7-trillion cubic feet of reserves in the field off Palawan, an estimated 1.2-trillion cubic feet of natgas has been used.

Recto Bank is, Philippines owned

Meanwhile, Layug stressed that Philippine ownership of Recto Bank is beyond dispute,  considering it is only 70 nautical miles west of Palawan, nearly twice as close to the mainland than Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal off Zambales province, and parts of the Spratly island chain. China insists on claiming both Recto Bank and Panatag Shoal, even though both are within the Philippines's 200-mile exclusive economic zone. A stand-off over fishing rights that began April 10 is still ongoing at Panatag.

As for Recto Bank, Layug said Monday, "Hindi na dapat issue yan. As far as the Philippines is concerned, Recto Bank is ours," sabi ni Layug.

The government started exploring for natural gas at Recto Bank since the 1980's but since there was no market yet for natgas, it gave to the Forum Energy-led consortium the service contract for SC 72. The bidding for the rights to explore was part of a series of contracting rounds set by the Aquino administration in order to encourage energy investments, diversify the country's energy supply base and maximize economic benefits from the natural resources.

Third-party report encouraging

Walter Brown, Atok vice chairman, said the board met last week to assess the results of the seismic test at SC 72, also known as the Recto Bank, and they were "encouraged" by what they have seen from the report.

"The results were extremely favorable and we're very optimistic about it," Brown said, adding that based on their assessment, Atok has to defer other exploration projects, especially in Laos.

"We're focusing now on oil and gas. It's not difficult but you have to decide. But at this point we are much more interested in this prospect," Brown said, referring to SC 72.

Atok is allotting ₱350 million for oil exploration and only a minuscule amount would go to mining, the official said.

The executive was not at liberty to disclose what the report contained only to say that it is a "world-class discovery." Atok management has to wait until Forum Energy Plc discloses the information at the London Stock Exchange in the coming days.

"The results very much exceeded our expectations. We are very happy." Roberto V. Ongpin, Atok chairman, told shareholders.

Brown said that there are several public companies involved in exploration activities in SC 72 and that Atok management does not want to preempt the others who have bigger stakes in the field that covers the Sampaguita prospect.

Atok has a 25.6-percent stake in Forum Energy, which owns 70 percent of the consortium that holds SC 72, with the rest owned by Monte Oro Resources & Energy Inc.

Forum Energy is majority owned by Philex Petroleum Corp, a unit of Philex Mining Corp. chaired by Manuel V. Pangilinan, who is also the chairman of TV5 and its online news portal InterAksyon.com.

Pangilinan had said earlier the reserves in SC 72 could rival that of the Malampaya field.

Given signs that the prospect is economically viable, the consortium will start drilling by the end of the year. The question of whether to drill one well or a back-to-back well however remains on the table.

Continue reading

International Survey: Philippines is the most Godly country in the World – Chicago

As published in the Washington Post, it shows that the Philippines is the most Godly country in the world with never fading faith and continuously believing and making God as the center of each lives.

Belief in God is slowly declining in most countries around the world, according to a new poll, but the truest of the true believers can still be found in developing countries in the Christian worlds and Catholic societies in the Far East.

The "Beliefs about God Across Time and Countries" report, released Wednesday (April 18, 2012) by researchers at the University of Chicago, found the Philippines to be the country with the highest belief, where 94 percent of Filipinos said they were strong believers who had always believed.

The Philippines is the home of the continuously emerging new Christian religions, the home of the highest Catholics and the only strongest-faith-Christian country in Asia.

At the opposite end, according to the survey at just 13 percent, was the former East Germany where people are majority non believer.

"The Philippines is both developing and Catholic," said Tom W. Smith, who directs the General Social Survey of the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. "Religion, which is mainly Catholic, is very emotionally strong there."

The report covered data from 30 countries that participated in at least two surveys in 1991, 1998 or 2008.

Filipino's faith in God has said to be keeps creating miracles, healing wounds & diseases, changing lives, creating ample of blessings and riches to the believers as acclaimed by Christian testimonies how they got healed, how they succeeded their career,  how they acquire riches and how they live happily and how God changed their lives .

In 29 of the 30 countries surveyed in 2008, belief increased with age: Belief in God was highest for those ages 68 or older (43 percent), compared to 23 percent of those younger than 28.

While overall belief in God has decreased in most parts of the world, three countries — Israel, Russia and Slovenia — saw increases. The report said religious belief had "slowly eroded" since the 1950s in most countries of the world.

Atheism and unbelief was most prominent in northwest Europe and some former Soviet states, with the exception of majority-Catholic Poland (just 3.3 percent).

Top 5 countries of Strong Faith and God believers

1. Philippines – 94%
2. Chile – 79.4%
3. Israel – 65.5%
4. Poland – 62%
5. United States – 60.6%

The United States (60.6 percent) was ranked in the top five countries for people who said they knew God existed and had no doubts. Besides the Philippines, the other countries were Chile (79.4 percent), Israel (65.5 percent) and Poland (62 percent).

Some factors are seen that affect the faith in God for Filipinos are the calamity such as earthquakes, typhoons and natural disasters which Faith in God is their only way to remain firm and strong, and the said to be keep existing of mystical powers which is practiced by the natives and tribal groups in most remote areas.

Filipinos is also known to be the most sociable people in the world ranking number one for social network users. The sociable attitudes are also the effect of the religious activities in each sector which people will go out every weekend to go to church and meet people to do worships in God. If in the other country people will meet each other in the bar or in the dance hall, Filipinos will usually go out for prayer meetings, worships, & other church and religious activities as their rendezvous. 

Many Filipinos believes that the last judgment , the last paradise and the land of the Promise could be found in the Philippines when God return as promised in the Holy Bible.

Continue reading

China claims Philippines is violating historical maritime law

China said Wednesday that the Philippines is violating maritime law by claiming a shoal in the South China Sea and dismissed Manila's request to take the dispute to an International Court.

"We believe it runs counter to historical facts and violates the law," said Liu Weimin, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry.

Philippine navy and Chinese maritime patrol vessels engaged in a standoff last week over a fishing incident near the Scarborough shoal in the South China Sea, an area both sides claim as sovereign territory.

Liu said China had "lodged solemn representations" with the Philippines and that Fu Ying, a vice foreign minister, had called in the Philippine envoy on Wednesday over the issue.

The Philippines plans to seek resolution in an international court, arguing that the shoal is well within the country's 370-kilometer (230-mile) exclusive economic zone that is recognized under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Liu said the Philippines is violating international law by using the U.N. convention to call into question sovereignty over the territory, known to china as Huangyan.

"China has sufficient legal evidence for its jurisdiction over the Huangyan island. China was the earliest to discover and name the island, and has included it on maps and exercised its sovereignty over it ever since," Liu said.

Liu said that the Philippines never objected to China's territorial control of the shoal before 1997 and that its claim now is "completely baseless."

A Philippine government statement on Wednesday contradicted Liu's remarks, saying it has effectively occupied and exercised jurisdiction over the shoal -- which it calls Bajo de Masinloc, or Panatag shoal -- for decades.

A map published in 1734 showed the shoal was part of the northwestern Philippine province of Zambales, the government said, adding that a Philippine flag and lighthouse were erected on Scarborough islets in 1965.

U.S. and Philippine warships engaged in defense exercises at the shoal when American forces maintained a naval base in Zambales, the government said. The shoal "is an integral part of the Philippine territory" and Chinese vessels in the area are committing "serious violation of the Philippines' sovereignty and maritime jurisdiction," it said.

The shoal is among numerous islands, reefs and coral outcrops in the South China Sea claimed by China, the Philippines and other nations for their potential oil and gas deposits, rich fishing grounds and proximity to busy commercial sea lanes.

The controversy flared on April 10 when two Chinese ships prevented a Philippine warship from arresting several Chinese fishermen who were accused of illegal entry and poaching. The fishermen slipped away from the shoal over the weekend, angering Philippine officials.

Manila lodged a protest with China on Monday, accusing one of the Chinese ships and an aircraft of harassing a Philippine-registered yacht that was conducting archaeological research in the shoal.

Liu said tensions started to ease after bilateral talks.

"We hope that the Philippines can stay with their commitment and pull back their ships as soon as possible, and resume peace and stability in waters near the Huangyan island," Liu said.

Tension has risen in the past two years over worries China is becoming more assertive in its claims to the sea which straddles shipping lanes between East Asia and Europe and the Middle East

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/04/18/china-claims-philippines-is-violating-maritime-law/#ixzz1sOq4dJDC  

Continue reading