After 40 yrs, Matinloc, Nido oil fields cease production
THE Department of Energy (DOE) said Monday that Nido and Matinloc oil fields in Northwest Palawan have ceased producing oil.
The agency participated last November 7 in the closing ceremony for the cessation of production operations of the oil fields.
“The closing of Nido and Matinloc’s production comes after over 40 fruitful years. Throughout their operations, these two oil fields have contributed significantly to our country’s energy needs. As this chapter comes to a close, we look forward to exciting times ahead as we continue our search for similar oil and gas projects that would help us attain energy security and fuel our continued development,” Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said.
In over four decades of production operations, Nido and MOPC were able to produce 18.9 million barrels of oil and 12.5 MMBO, respectively. The oil fields are no longer commercially viable.
Undersecretary Donato D. Marcos and DOE-Energy Resource Development Bureau Director Cesar G. de la Fuente III received memorabilia from the SC 14 consortia, on behalf of the DOE.
Also present were members of the Western Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Task Force Malampaya, and different service contractors of the Philippine upstream petroleum sector.
The event was hosted by Service Contract (SC) 14 A and B’s consortia, composed of The Philodrill Corp.; Alcorn Petroleum; Oriental Petroleum; Nido Production; Phinma Energy; and Forum Energy.
In July 1977, Cities Service Inc. and its Filipino partners discovered commercial oil in what became the Nido A Field, in the Nido limestone reservoir of Service Contract 14’s offshore area. The discovery
of the Nido B Field followed in January 1978. Production commenced in February 1979, which marked the first commercial oil production in the Philippines. During its early stages, peak field production reached 40,000 barrels of oil per day.
The Matinloc oil field was discovered in January 1979, followed by the Pandan and Libro discoveries in 1980, which led to the establishment of the Matinloc Oilfield Production Complex, the central hub of production operations. In 1988, the North Matinloc oil field was discovered and connected to the MOPC.