PXP Energy Corp. is confident of securing two new petroleum service contracts amid rising global oil prices.
“We look forward to a better second half of 2021 with focused energy in the continuation and fulfillment of our work commitments in our operated and non operated blocks, especially with the resumption of our offshore exploration activities in SC 72 and 75,” PXP Energy president Daniel Stephen Carlos said during the annual stockholders’ meeting Friday.
“With the aim to revitalize petroleum activities and to diversify asset portfolio through the acquisition of two new prospective areas, we look forward to be granted 2 new SCs in the Sulu Sea and Recto Bank areas,” Carlos said.
PXP Energy In Aug 2019 participated in a bidding round of the Department of Energy over a prospective block in the Sandakan basin in Sulu Sea, along with The Philodrill Corp.
“Once a new SC is awarded, our immediate plan is to reprocess at least 1,600 sm of 3D seismic data,” Carlos said.
PXP nominated a block in the Recto Bank Area, which is close to the company’s SC 72.
Carlos said the company submitted documents for the DOE’s legal, technical and financial review.
“Our application for two SCs remains under review in the DOE,” Carlos said.
PXP Energy and unit Forum Energy Ltd are involved in a number of SCs in the Philippines, either as an operator or as a joint venture partner.
“As in previous years, we remain committed in advancing our exploration efforts particularly in the four service contracts wherein our company is the operator,” he said.
PXP’s service contracts includes SC 72 in Recto Bank, SC 75 and 74 both in northwest Palawan and SC 40 in northern Cebu.
The company has a participating interest in an exploration block outside of the Philippines—Block Z38 in offshore Peru through subsidiary Pitkin Petroleum.
PXP subsidiary Forum Energy through Forum GSEC 101 Ltd. operates SC 72, or Recto Bank, with 70 percent participating interest.
Carlos said the company would focus on the development of SC 72 following the lifting of a force majeure in October last year.
“Within the block is the Sampaguita gas discovery which is estimated to contain about 2.6 trillion cubic feet of contingent gas resources. While SC 72 remained under force majeure during the previous years, we continue to conduct exploration activities such as the reprocessing of the Sampaguita 3D data set in 2019. This was followed in 2020 by seismic interpretation to determine the optimum location of the Sampaguita appraisal wells,” he said.
PXP received a resume-to-work notice from the DOE, essentially ending the moratorium in the block following the lifting of the force majeure.
“Since then, we have restarted preparations for the drilling of two appraisal wells over the Sampaguita field next year,” Carlos said.
PXP plans to do further exploratory works in the North Bank prospect located just 70 km northeast of Sampaguita.
“Our plan for North Bank is to acquire new seismic data to evaluate the prospect which is estimated at 3.3 trillion cubic feet of prospective gas resources,” he said.