PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday he might lift the moratorium on oil exploration at the West Philippine Sea following his meeting with Chinese Premier Li Kequiang who recently visited the country.
“It’s one of the possibilities that will happen or can happen or will happen sa [in][the]South China Sea,” Duterte told reporters in a chance interview in Taguig City.
“There’s really…it’s an area too big. But I think the players there would really be the Asean members who are also claimants.”
But Duterte said he would only lift the moratorium for the benefit of the country.
“I will only lift it when I think the higher interest of the Philippines is served,” Duterte said.
He raised the possibility a week after the visit of Li who, in a joint statement, said the two countries “may explore means to cooperate with each other in other possible maritime activities, including maritime oil and gas exploration and exploitation.”
The Energy Department had issued a moratorium on all exploration and drilling in Service Contracts 72 and 75 in December 2014 and 2015, respectively, amid the rising maritime tension with China.
The department said London-listed Forum Energy Plc held a 70-percent operating interest in SC 72 or the contract to explore Recto Bank in the South China Sea, where PXP Energy Corp. holds a share of 60.45 percent.
PXP Energy Corp., led by businessman Manny V. Pangilinan, also has a direct operating interest of 50 percent in SC 75.
The Energy Department reiterated in March that the drilling moratorium still held in the disputed waters and that the decision to lift the moratorium would be based on guidance from the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Under the projected joint exploration, the President said the two parties could also jointly explore what they could extract, such as valuable minerals, aside from ore.
“That’s what they’re looking at,” Duterte said. He reiterated his position not to allow black sand mining in the Philippines since there were many “useful and maybe expensive” minerals that could be taken out from black sand.
