$ 7.5 Billion Dollars for Oil and Gas Exploration in the Philippines - A1- A15 - DoE

The government is eyeing up to $7.5 billion in investments from the 15 new oil and gas exploration areas to be offered in the fourth Philippine Energy Contracting Round (PECR 4).

During the PECR 4 launch yesterday, Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said they expect an investment of about $500 million for each of the service contracts (SC) to be auctioned off in the contracting round.

The PECR 4 comprises of three onshore and 12 offshore blocks with a total area of more than 10 million hectares located in Northwest Palawan, East Palawan, and Sulu Sea basins. This year’s contracting round will be the biggest yet offered by the Philippines.

Included in the areas offered under the PECR 4 are four cancelled SCs of one oil exploration firm in Sulu Sea.

Almendras said they expect to award the SCs by early next year after allowing the prospective investors about five months to conduct their respective due diligence studies.

Among those that attended the launching of PECR 4 are: Petro Energy Resources Corp.; PNOC-Exploration Corp.; Pitkin Petroleum; Philodrill Corp.; BGP Inc.; Polyard Petroleum Int’l. Co. Ltd.; Shell Philippines Exploration BV; Star Energy; Supply Oilfield Services Inc.; Tap Oil. Ltd; Venturoil Phil. Inc.; Palawan Sulu Sea Gas Inc.; Galoc Production Inc.; Gibeon Integration Systems Pte Ltd.; Great Treasures Alliances Int’l.; Logistics Marketing Phils. Inc.; Nido Petroleum Ltd.; Norasian Energy Ltd.; Oriental Petroleum & Minerals Corp.; Chevron Malampaya Phils. LLC; China Union Global Holdings Ltd.; Forum Energy PLC; Basic Energy and One Asia Oil & Gas Corp.

According to Almendras, the contracting round is expected to attract investments in oil and gas exploration activities which will contribute to the realization of the country’s energy self-sufficiency level target of 60 percent by 2011.

So far, only 10 percent of the potential oil and gas reserves of the country has been tapped.

The PECR 4 is envisioned to address the country’s energy supply through the exploration of local indigenous resources. Harnessing local resources will help the country meet its daily demand and reduce the importation of petroleum and petroleum products.

Independent and large-scale international exploration companies that have attended previous roadshows in Singapore and Australia have also expressed interest to bid in the various blocks for offer.

Energy Undersecretary Jay Layug said the Department of Petroleum and Energy of Papua New Guinea has also expressed support to PECR 4 and will encourage investors to consider the Philippines for exploration.

Almendras said they are overwhelmed by the response of potential investors in PECR 4.

Earlier, Layug said most of the investors are eyeing areas near Northwest Palawan,specifically Areas 3,4,5 where the presence of oil and gas have already been proven. The $4.5-billion Malampaya deep water gas-to-power project is located in NW Palawan.

 

Continue reading

The Philippines officials and mass Hail the Performance of President Noy Aquino

Stressing that he is not used to praising himself, President Benigno S. Aquino III refused to give himself a performance grade as he marked his first 12 months in Malacañang Thursday.

He, however, drew praises from his officials.

Instead of grading himself, the President claimed his biggest achievement was that apathy of the people has been replaced by a renewed partnership with the government.

“My greatest achievement is the transformation in the attitude of the people. If there were resignation, dejection, and apathy before, many people are now taking part so we can achieve a better country. Many people are now helping to reach our goals as soon as possible,” he said in Filipino during a press conference in the Palace.

Aquino marked his first year in office with the signing of the law postponing the election in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the approval of the proposed 2012 national budget, and a launch of a campaign rallying volunteers.

His government reportedly made some progress in fighting corruption and poverty but encountered many setbacks, including criticisms of slow pace of reforms.

Before he assumed office, the President recalled that the people were indifferent to national issues because they could not expect anything from the government. People were also no longer shaken by scandals that were unearthed before, he said.

“I have listened and read in the newspapers about a passing mark etch. It seems they are asking me to be perfect and it is good that there are people who are pushing you to improve your efforts,” he said.

Asked what grade he would give his administration in its first year, Aquino said: “Hindi ko talaga ugaling magtaas ng sariling bangko. Sorry. (It’s not my attitude to praise myself. Sorry).”

While the President preferred to be silent about his performance, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. and Commodore Jose Miguel Rodriguez, AFP spokesman, hailed the President’s performance in his first year in office.

Ochoa noted that the government has made “significant strides” in promoting good governance, peace and justice, improved social services, and robust economic growth during its first year.

Ochoa, in an interview, said people view that the government is “performing better now than a year ago” based on recent opinion polls.

He said the government sought the swift approval of the 2011 national budget without delay using the zero-based budgeting approach. First steps were also taken “to put our house in order” as the government remains on track to meet its P325 billion deficit target or 3.9 percent of gross domestic product due to improved revenue collections and prudent spending. “We are the first administration to deal decisively with the abuses in our GOCCs (government-owned and -controlled corporations), with the passage of the GOCC Governance Act of 2011,” Ochoa said.

Ochoa likewise cited the removal of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, saying “we have, for the first time in history, held the Office of the Ombudsman accountable in the performance of its functions.” The government also showed that it will not hesitate to mete out justice when it dismissed Deputy Ombudsman Emilio Gonzalez III for mishandling a case of the slain policeman involved in the August hostage crisis in Manila as well as suspended Special Prosecutor Wendell Sulit for alleged involvement in the irregular plea bargain deal with a former military comptroller.

The government also made crucial reforms in the education sector, including free kindergarten education for Filipino children for the first time in history, according to Ochoa.

On economic development, Ochoa cited the launch of the first batch of Public-Private Partnership projects lined up for bidding in 2011. “With an estimated investment of more than a billion dollars, these projects will further boost the economy and provide opportunities for employment. Confidence in the country is also up, as shown by the country’s improved Moody ratings,” he said.

Commodore Rodriguez said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) was re-energized in the first year of President Aquino as its Commander-in-Chief.

Rodriguez said the incentives and various programs given by Aquino in just a span of one year bolstered the morale of the military organization.

Among them, he said, is the housing program, doubling of both the combat and incentive pays of every soldiers assigned to conduct internal security operations in the field.

“The AFP stands invigorated by the first year of the President’s leadership as our Commander-in-Chief,” said Rodriguez.

Continue reading

Philippines' Beauty Queen Wins on Defense of Spratlys

Sarah Osorio, an 18-year-old resident of a South China Sea coral outcrop, was crowned beauty queen of the Philippines’ Palawan province after she backed her country’s claims in the disputed waters.

The win shows the popular appeal of the contest for control of the Spratlys that has sparked rising tensions between China, the Philippines and Vietnam, all vying for untapped oil reserves made more lucrative by the 24 percent jump in crude prices in the past year. The growing nationalism over the South China Sea islands has seen anti-China protests in Vietnam and Chinese gunboats firing at Philippine trawlers.

Osorio said at last week’s pageant she wanted to defend her home islands against aggression by neighboring countries. Her speech touched “the main issue right now,” setting her apart from her rivals, said Rem Divino, one of the judges.

Her victory also illustrates how governments use civilians to stake their claims to the dozens of islands, reefs and banks that make up the Spratlys -- and with them rights to surrounding seabed and any oil that’s trapped beneath it. Communities on islands are a way of asserting jurisdiction, analyst Earl Parreno said.

“There are many ways of letting everybody know your stake without flexing military muscle,” said Parreno, a fellow at the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform in Manila. “They put up structures, they haul people to the islands. Some of these islands are basically uninhabitable. These are artificial communities.”

China’s Claims

China’s overlapped their claims to the South China Sea or also called as West Philippines’ Sea (WPS) to the Philippines Waters extend more than 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles or 864 Nautical Miles) south from Hainan island. Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also have overlapping claims. Spratlys is just within 200 Nautical Mile or less (130 to 200 Nautical Miles) to the shore of the Philippines. UNCLOS International Laws of Sea guaranteed the Philippines not more than 200 Nautical Miles Exclusive Economic Zone; More than 200 Nautical Miles Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines, Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia is the called the Disputed Areas which all of those countries will contest in international court who could be the legal owner of each islands.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week reaffirmed U.S. commitment to defend its Philippine treaty ally, while China June 28 said disputes in the area were a matter for the countries involved.

“I’ve heard stories from my relatives of fishermen being harassed by the Chinese,” Osorio said in a telephone interview. “They don’t have the right to do that. We own Kalayaan,” as the Spratlys are known locally.

The Philippine Navy said this month it removed territorial markers placed by China on reefs near Palawan in May. Beijing- based China Mobile Ltd. (941), the nation’s biggest phone company, last month said it had extended cellular services to cover the Spratlys, which are known as Nansha and are deemed part of Hainan province.

Taiwan-occupied Dongsha islands, known internationally as the Pratas group, share the same zip code as the city of Kaohsiung, more than 400 kilometers east.

Vietnam Structures in the Spratlys

Vietnam has installed wind turbines and built roads and reservoirs on islands it occupies in the Spratlys, and this month announced plans to develop a marine tourism industry there. Soil is shipped in to grow food, according to state-run Vietnam News Agency.

Vietnam’s claim to the Spratlys dates back centuries, according to a government document. Still, the first recorded Vietnamese child to be born there was in 2009, Vietnamplus said.

China’s rising naval power has rattled its Asian neighbors, giving an opening for the U.S. to tighten military ties with allies such as South Korea, Japan and the Philippines, and forge new relations with former foe Vietnam. The U.S. began drills with the Philippines this week off Palawan and will carry out exercises with Vietnam next month.

Puzzle

Efforts by China, Vietnam and the Philippines to inhabit the islands are an attempt to prove they have occupied and demonstrated control over them to improve their legal claim, said Mark J. Valencia, a maritime lawyer and senior research fellow with the National Bureau of Asian Research, said by phone from Honolulu.

Even though most of the Sptralys islands are within the 200 Nautical Miles Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines; and legally within the Philippine territory based on UNCLOS and the historic fishing water since the ancients of Filipino locals, Still the Philippines tried to show more valid claim by actually human daily activities and presence of the islands.

Part of the problem is “you have to also show that at the time, or for a good period of the time, there was no protest by the other parties,” Valencia said. “That’s certainly not the case here over the last two to three decades.”

Sorting out the territorial claims “would become the most complex jigsaw puzzle on earth,” he said.

The Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan have troops stationed on the Spratlys. The islands and reefs cover 5 square kilometers of land, 1 1/2 times the size of New York’s Central Park, spread over an area roughly the size of Iraq.

Chinese studies suggest the waters sit atop more than 14 times estimates of its oil reserves and 10 times those for gas.

While the Philippine-occupied islands have around 200 registered voters, only about two dozen stay in Osorio’s home island of Pag-Asa at any one time, Palawan Governor Abraham Kahlil Mitra said by phone. Keeping people there is “of big significance that Kalayaan is part of the country,” he said.

Philippine Air Strip in Pag-asa island

Osorio said she stays mostly in the Palawan capital Puerto Princesa, 500 kilometers from Pag-Asa, the biggest of the occupied islands, which has an airstrip that juts out from either side. The youngest child of a municipal councilor father and accountant mother, Osorio said she stays in Pag-Asa during the summer holiday.

Protests erupted in Hanoi this month after Chinese ships cut survey cables of a Vietnam Oil & Gas Group vessel. Chinese ships in March chased away a boat working for U.K.-based Forum Energy Plc (FEP) that was surveying the area. A Chinese frigate fired warning shots at Philippine trawlers on Feb. 25.

“We don’t have the capability to fight with them,” Osorio said. “The solution to the problem is diplomacy.”

 

Continue reading