PNOC-EC sees more exploration works this year
PNOC Exploration Corp., the oil and gas exploration arm of state-owned Philippine National Oil Co., expects more activities this year as it takes advantage of expanding local and overseas opportunities.
In a message posted on its website, PNOC-EC president Pedro Aquino said the firm is continuously trying to make the best out of the 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.
The Mangosteen and Mabolo prospects are part of Service Contract (SC) 37, which was awarded by the Department of Energy (DOE) to PNOC-EC in July 1990.
SC 37 covers an area of 2,200 square kilometers, with first gas production starting in the San Antonio Gas Field in 1995 until 2008.
In the Mangosteen prospect, a well was drilled in March 2015 and several gas-charged zones were encountered and tested, making it a gas discovery well as confirmed by the DOE.
Tests showed it has an estimated recoverable resource potential of about 71 billion cubic feet (BCF), which could complement the Malampaya gas-to-power project offshore Palawan especially when the latter’s contract expires in 2024.
Meanwhile, under coal exploration, Aquino said the company is also looking to develop a mine-mouth power plant in its coal exploration project also in Isabela.
“We have received various proposals on the development of our Coal Operating Contract 122 (COC 122) in Isabela with the construction of a minemouth coal fired power plant,” he said.
In June 2016, PNOC-EC was able to secure a favorable Department of Justice (DOJ) opinion that it can enter into power generation business.
Under COC 122, PNOC-EC has the exclusive exploration rights over nine coal blocks, totaling 9,000 hectares. A pioneering undertaking, the firm seeks to utilize low rank indigenous coal to fuel an electric power plant employing “progressive mining and rehabilitation method” and “clean coal” technology.