The Department of Energy (DOE) in the Philippines has opened the bids submitted by parties interested to explore untapped energy resources in the West Philippine Sea under the Philippine Conventional Energy Contracting Program (PCECP). DOE launched the PCECP in 2018 inviting stakeholders to invest, explore, develop, and produce Philippine indigenous energy resources.
The DOE announced that the the following bidders for the four nominated areas under the PCECP have passed the agency’s requirements. They were evaluated for their work program and technical, financial, and legal qualifications.
- Troika Giant Power Corp. submitted a bid for Nominated Area No. 5 or the Mindoro-Cuyo basin.
- PXP Energy Corporation eyes exploration deal in Nominated Area No. 6.
- Udenna Energy Corp. targets Nominated Area Nos. 7 and 8 all in the West Philippine Sea.
DOE Secretary Alfonso Cusi has been promoting drilling activities in the country as the Philippines lags behind among its South East Asian neighbors in terms of oil exploration activities. The Philippines only has 5 drillings per year compared to the annual exploration activities of Vietnam at 24, Myanmar at 29, Thailand at 594, and Indonesia at 900.
Bolstering oil and gas exploration will help the country to meet its power requirement of 43,765 megawatts by 2040 according to the DOE.
(Source: Philippine News Agency)
