Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 12) — The Philippines is set to redevelop an old offshore oil field in Palawan which was shut down some 30 years ago, with drilling set to begin in the first half of 2023 amid prospects of a new oil find.
Top officials of the Department of Energy told reporters on Wednesday that if exploration and testing at the Cadlao oil field prove to be “successful,” a “permanent production facility” will be installed by 2024, with output estimated at 15,000 barrels per day at most.
The oil field nestles on the Palawan Basin, producing a total of 11.1 million barrels of oil between 1981 and 1991 before it was shut down as output declined.
But the government now said that testing will be done.
Earlier this week, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. announced that his administration has given the green light to Nido Petroleum, a subsidiary of Australia-listed energy firm Sacgasco Ltd., for a drilling survey.
The project covers two service contracts valued at a combined $72 million, according to Energy Undersecretary Alessandro Sales.
But the oil field’s daily rate of production is just a fraction of the 320,000 barrels of oil that the Philippines consumes each day, he pointed out.
“It’s really a small volume in Cadlao. It’s about five to six million barrels that is being targeted to be redeveloped,” Sales explains, referring to the prospective oil find in reviving the old oil field, although the oil resources are finite.
“In terms of daily production, this could come out to a high of 15,000 barrels to a low of 5,000 barrels. And these fields will normally decline in time,” Sales added.
Energy officials said the oil field’s output could hardly soften oil prices.
“This is just the first step. This is not going to make a massive impact on the supply requirements of oil in the Philippines. But if this is going to be sustained then we are going to see the further development of the other service contracts in the country,” Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said.
The Cadlao oil field operator has already secured environment permits because drilling could produce environmental wastes, Sales said. But the contract does not need an environment clearance certificate (ECC) yet until a permanent offshore oil production facility is in place.
