A lot of expectation is being thrown on the Cadlao Oil Field which is located northwest of Palawan to deliver on its potential towards enticing investors for the oil and gas sector and lift the Philippine economy out of its doldrums.
The Marcos administration together with and the Department of Energy (DOE) is optimistic in the production of five to six million barrels of oil towards the second half of 2023 which is termed as “recoverable” volumes.
Nido Petroleum Philippines Pty. Ltd will proceed with the on-site survey under Service Contract (SC) 6B in the Palawan basin by fourth quarter of 2022.
The go-signal to Nido Petroleum paves the way for the drilling of two wells which is one devoted to exploration and another to the appraisal. Both will happen in the early part of next year and could lead to oil production by the second half of next year.
According to the statement by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. the Nido Petroleum commits itself to funding the 100% of the development costs, which include drilling, extended well tests, and subsequent development of the said oil field.
The Government is extending its support through Presidential Decree (PD 87) which was issued to revamp petroleum legislation by introducing the service contracting system and provides financial incentives to contractors, including tax-free importation of equipment and supplies, exemption from all taxes except income tax, income tax assumption, accelerated depreciation, free market determination of crude oil price, and easy repatriation of investments and profits.
Several other projects and offshore oil developments are in the pipeline which includes Sacgasco in SC 6B and SC54A estimated at $15 million each and hopes to help in addressing the energy needs of the country.
Cover photo credit to Unsplash from charlesdeluvio
