Companies eye to develop Panay oil reserve

Manningning or Maniguin Island (Photo from www.tixik.com)

The Department of Energy (DOE) revealed that there are some companies that expressed their intentions to develop an oil reserve on the island of Manningning or Maniguin in Culasi, Antique.

“Once the oil field is developed, it will surely enhance the economic growth of Panay Island,” Energy Resource Development Bureau Assistant Director Ismael Ocampo said during a press conference in Iloilo City on Tuesday.

The presence of oil on the island was confirmed by the state-run Philippine National Oil Company–Exploration Corp (PNOC-EC) in 1994.

“The well flowed 300 barrels of oil per day,” Ocampo noted.

“But it was not commercially viable due to cheap prices of crude oil [during that time],” he said.

“Now that the prices of petroleum products are peaking up, some companies are interested to develop this oil reserve,” Ocampo told reporters.

The DOE is currently “looking and exploring for new gas reserves as a replacement to the Malampaya gas,” which is expected to deplete in 2024.

DOE Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella said based on Philippine oil trading laws, 60 percent of the net income from the discovered oil would go to the national government while 40 percent would go to a service contractor.

SOURCE: Iloilo Metropolitan Times

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