SC 55 with 2.2 trillion cubic feet gas reserves in Palawan well drilling to start soon after Environment Compliance

The consortium of Service Contract (SC) 55 could soon proceed to drill the Cinco-1 exploration well in offshore Palawan, following the issuance of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) its much-awaited clearance.

SC 55 is led BHP Billiton that controls 60 percent , while Otto Energy and local partner Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp own the remaining 33.18 percent and 6.82 percent of the oil block, respectively.

"Otto Energy Ltd. has been notified that PCSD has approved the issuance of the strategic environmental plan clearance in relation to drilling of the Cinco-1 exploration well in SC 55," the Australian firm said.

The companies now await the formal written endorsement, which is now being finalized with other concerned parties, including PCSD, BHPB and the Department of Energy (DOE).

The Cinco prospect is located in a 9,000 square kilometer area in offshore Palawan under Service Contract (SC) 55.

Both BHP Billiton and Otto Energy are listed at the Australian stock exchange, while Trans-Asia is a Philippine-listed firm.

"This is a positive step in closing the final regulatory approvals required to progress drilling of the Cinco-1 exploration well. We look forward to finalizing these approvals and the commencement of drilling activities," Otto Chief Executive Officer Gregor McNab said.

Otto further said the SC 55 joint venture will seek confirmation from the DOE of the revised work program.

The consortium had to declare delay in the program, citing force majeure, brought about by the delay in receiving the clearance from PCSD. The clearance was expected to have been issued in September last year

SC 55, also known as the Cinco well, is situated near the Malampaya gas field, which has a potential resource of 2.2 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas compared with the Malampaya's proven reserves of 2.7 TCF.

The Malampaya's production fuels three major power plants that generate more than a third of the country's electricity supply. The field's output, however, is expected to dry up starting 2024.

Earlier, the DOE threatened to award the contract to other interested applicants if the consortium fails to comply with obligations by August.

With report from Business Mirror and Interaksyon News

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China asks Philippines' Aquino to call off visit in apparent snub 'You are not invited"

Philippine President Benigno Aquino makes a speech before the lunch ceremony, during the World Economic Forum (WEF) at the Myanmar International Convention Centre at Naypyitaw June 7, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun

(Reuters) - China has asked Philippine President Benigno Aquino to call off a visit next week for the opening of a trade fair, Manila said on Thursday, in an apparent snub, but Beijing insisted it had never invited him in the first place.

Relations between the two countries have been soured by a bitter territorial dispute in the South China Sea.

Claims by an increasingly powerful China over most of the sea have set it directly against U.S. allies Vietnam and the Philippines. Brunei, Taiwan and Malaysia also claim parts of the waters and China has a separate dispute with Japan in the East China Sea.

Manila has filed an arbitration case before the U.N. International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea, questioning Beijing's claim as China deploys ships on two disputed shoals in the area.

"The president has decided not to proceed to the China-ASEAN Expo taking into consideration China's request for the president to visit China at a more conducive time," Philippine Foreign Ministry spokesman Raul Hernandez said in a text message.

"On the part of the Philippines, we will continue to abide by our principled position that bilateral relations can advance despite differences."

China's Foreign Ministry, in a statement given to Reuters, said Aquino had not been invited.

"China never extended an invitation to the Philippine president," it said, without elaborating.

The expo is an annual trade fair joining China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which the Philippines is a member.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi appeared to take a swipe at the Philippines when he spoke to reporters after a meeting with Southeast Asian foreign ministers in Beijing earlier in the day.

"As for the dispute of the Spratly Islands, they are not an issue between China and ASEAN," Wang said. "We do not believe that one individual opinion should replace the common position of all ASEAN countries, nor do we think that one individual (opinion) should compromise the overall interests of the two sides by pursuing their own selfish interests."

Hernandez told reporters China's request was conveyed to the Philippine government on Wednesday night, hours after Aquino announced his plan to make a 12-hour visit to Nanning on September 3 for the expo.

Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo will represent the president in the September 3-6 event, where the Philippines is this year's "country of honor", Hernandez added.

(Reporting By Manuel Mogato in MANILA and Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Nick Macfie - Reuters)

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Philippine will implement E-Court System in Major Cities – Supreme Court Chief Justice said

Supreme Court Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno revealed yesterday, during her first "Meet the Press" session, that the Supreme Court will be relying heavily on technology to accomplish major reforms in the justice system.

She commented that more than half of litigation time is consumed by the filing of pleadings, sending notifications to lawyers, prosecutors and other parties before a single case is terminated or decided by the court.

"We are trying to find a system for electronic notices. Imagine if you are notified by SMS for the case calendar, and we also received corresponding confirmation by email, we will cut down the two months it takes for the postal return card to be given back to the court," Sereno said.

"However, the problem of decongestion and the problem of prolonged litigation has to be solved by a menu of solutions; not a single solution is sufficient," she said.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Sereno said the most important reform being considered by the Supreme Court is the establishment of an electronic court system (e-Court system) in major cities where there is an urgent need to decongest the backlogs of cases.

The e-Court system will improve the processes of capturing, storing and accessing documents filed at the branch courts so as to avoid duplicated data and repetition in the administrative processes.

Additionally, the new system would also help erase perceptions that "money is leaking in the court system" because the cases will now be "raffled" off electronically and the fees will be automatically assessed by the system.

Its pilot trial was launched at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court last month, and will serve as a model once it is rolled out in all courts nationwide.

"Technology will get rid of redundant procedures to ensure that we can provide citizens with quality justice within reasonable time," she said.

Furthermore, the Supreme Court is also considering setting up electronic kiosks in major cities so that lawyers and can simply scan their pleadings and mail it through for the electronic filing system.

"The beauty of electronic kiosks in major cities is that the judge can identify which case should be given priority since the system has an aging system for the detention time of a prisoner," she said.

News source: Asia Pacific Future Gov

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