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NOTWITHSTANDING the political turmoil in the country,
Australia-based Nido Petroleum Ltd. has earmarked about
$70 million to spend for its oil-and-gas exploration
activities in the
Philippines,
company chairman David Whitby told reporters.
In an
interview, the Nido official said the $70-million budget
for the year is substantial compared with the $4-million
budget they had when they started their operations in
the Philippines three years ago.
Whitby
said part of this year’s programmed budget will be spent
to drill one well in its Service Contract (SC) 54 in
northwest Palawan, near the Malampaya oil-and-gas field.
“We’ll
probably be spending close to $70 million this year, as
it is an interesting time for us. We’ve completed our
seismic [study] and we have new-generation seismic
surveys over the entire basin,” said the Nido official.
Whitby
said the increase in capital expenditure is anchored on
its overall confidence in the country’s economy. “It’s
interesting to do business in the Philippines,” said
Whitby, adding that they are not affected by any of the
political turmoil the country (Philippines) faces right
now.
Whitby
noted that the economic fundamentals of the
Philippines
are very sound and strong.
Nido, a
company listed in the Australian Stock Exchange, holds
60-percent interest in SC 54, with Perth-based oil and
gas exploration company Yilgarn Gold Ltd. owning a
40-percent interest.
“The $70
million, at most for this year, is going to be for our
soft start; we will drill one well for SC 54, which is
our commitment,” Whitby said.
For his
part, Nido Petroleum president Emmanuel J.V. de Dios
also committed to continue to build on the initiatives
undertaken by the company, “which are to focus on the
Philippines’ Palawan Basin and progress in the Galoc oil
field development.”
De Dios
added that “while we are very excited about Galoc, we
are also very keen to pursue our exploration activities
in the other areas that we hold in the Philippines.”
He
added that they will also be looking at exploring other
opportunities in the region. “Asia is still relatively
unexplored and given the high oil-price environment, we
see this as an opportunity to expand, capture and
develop an exploration portfolio across the region,” de
Dios said. |
