State-owned PNOC Exploration Corp. recorded a net income of P1.166 billion in 2017, up 15 percent from P1.017 billion in 2016.
PNOC Exploration in unaudited financial statements reported higher revenues of P4.261 billion in 2017, up 10 percent from P3.872 billion in the previous year.
Gross profit stood at P2.336 billion from P1.9 billion in 2016, while other income was significantly higher at P109.59 million from P19.576 million a year before.
PNOC Exploration president Pete Aquino said other income came from “the operation of the Energy Supply Base in Batangas and foreign exchange gains.” The ESB is a private commercial port in Mabini, Batangas, which offers pier services, warehousing facilities, cargo handling, equipment rental, manpower services, bunkering and water services.
The company spent P409.7 million in administrative expenses last year, lower than the P422.424 million in 2016.
Profit before tax reached P2.03 billion last year compared with P1.627 billion in 2016.
PNOC Exploration derives the bulk of its income from the Malampaya gas project in northwest Palawan, where it owns a 10-percent stake .
The company also hold several oil and gas and coal service contracts and is looking at overseas prospects in Iran and Russia this year.
“Our plan to look for overseas opportunities is slowly beginning to bear fruit… I am optimistic that 2018 will be a very good year for our Company,” Aquino said earlier.
He said the company was in talks with an Indian company for its projects in Iran.
“We are currently in talks with ONGC Videsh Limited of India to be our consortium partner in various projects in Iran,” Aquino said.
PNOC Exploration announced last year that it was exploring potential investment in an oil and gas field in Iran as part of its new portfolio of projects.
PNOC Exploration received technical assistance from the National Iranian Oil Company to “conduct the preliminary review, evaluation, assessment of its proposed projects” under a memorandum of understanding.
The company is looking at investing in the development of Pazanan (oil and gas) fields and third phase of Darquain Field to supply gas to the proposed LNG liquefaction plant.
The Darquian oilfield, which is estimated to contain around 3.6 billion barrels of oil in-place while the Pazanan oil field is considered as one of the huge gas condensate reservoir in Iran, estimated to have a total proven reserves of around 50 trillion cubic feet.
PNOC Exploration is also in coordination with NIOC as it planned to invest in the construction of an LNG liquefaction plant in Iran.
Aquino said the cooperation agreement PNOC Exploration signed with Rosneft of Russia “will start to get going beginning January 2018.”
Rosneft, a Russian petroleum industry, PNOC Exploration and Pionaire Finance Ltd. have signed a trilateral a agreement in oil and products trading as well as for joint participation in oil refining projects.
Rosneft and PNOC Exploration announced their intention to sign a strategic long-term contract in the near future for delivery of crude oil to the local oil firm.
“While we lost the international oil and coal trading to PNOC at the beginning of the year, we were able to get it back towards the end of the year,” Aquino said.
He said PNOC Exploration is continuously trying to make the best out of its gas discovery in Isabela.
“We have signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) for the conduct of passive seismic tomography to confirm our findings and refine the mapping structure of Mangosteen and Mabolo,” he said.
He said PNOC Exploration have received various proposals on the development of Coal Operating Contract 122 (COC 122) in Isabela with the construction of a mine-mouth coal fired power plant.
PNOC Exploration owns a 10 percent stake in the Malampaya gas to power project in northwest Palawan where it derives bulk of its revenues.
PNOC Exploration also owns stakes in service contract 37 (Cagayan), SC 74 Northwest Palawan, SC 63 (Sabina), SC 59 (West Balabac), SC 58 (West Calamian) and SC 57 (Calamian).
