Philex Petroleum Corp., the oil and gas exploration unit of Philex Mining Corp., incurred a consolidated net loss of P118.1 million in the first nine months of 2015, down from a loss of P376.9 million year-on-year.
The company said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the net loss attributable to equity holders of the parent company amounted to P65.9 million compared with a net loss of P188.8 million during the same period last year.
“The net loss primarily resulted from lower petroleum revenues contributed by its subsidiary, Forum Energy Plc, due to a drop in crude oil prices and a lower production from Service Contract 14C1 Galoc,” it said.
Philex Petroleum said net loss decreased year-on-year due to a charge in impairment to Pitkin’s service contract 6a-Octon block during during the same period last year.
“The company will continue its efforts to reduce operating expenditures through the rationalization of the company’s business structure and asset portfolio particularly in the current low oil-price environment,” the company said.
Philex Petroleum chairman Manuel Pangilinan expects the company to generate losses for now because that is “the nature of the beast because it is basically in exploratory stage.”
“I don’t foresee Philex Petroleum going in the black for the next year. You just have to wait for developments on the exploration side,” Pangilinan said earlier.
The Energy Department granted Philex Petroleum a force majeure on service contract 75 in offshore northwest Palawan recently, after the company sought clarification from the Energy Department. The SC 75 area is also located near SC 72 (Recto Bank) and SC 58 also in northwest Palawan,.
Exploration in SC 72 and SC 58 has been suspended due to force majeure amid the ongoing territorial dispute with China.
Under the terms of the force majeure, all exploration work at SC 75 will be immediately suspended effective from the end of the first subphase on December 27, 2015 until the date the department notifies the company to resume petroleum-related activities.
Philex Petroleum holds a 60.49 percent voting interest and a 48.76 percent economic interest in Forum Energy plc, which holds a 70 percent operating interest in SC 72.
Philex Petroleum is an upstream oil and gas company incorporated in the Philippines whose shares are listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange.