First oil at Philippines' Galoc field b earliest end of May

This is from Reuters. The oil is coming on stream a bit behind schedule. Philippines depends almost entirely on imported oil so this new field may provide a little relief from total dependence on foreign oil. This development alone will boost Philippine output by 70 per cent.





REFILE-First oil at Philippines' Galoc field by earliest end-May
Mon May 12, 2008 9:57am BST
(Refiles to correct spelling of Philippines)
SINGAPORE, May 12 (Reuters) - The Philippines' newest oilfield, Galoc, will come on stream at the earliest by the end of May, more than a month behind target, equity producer Otto Energy (OEL.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) said in a release on Monday.
Australia-based Otto Energy said in a press statement the Rubicon Intrepid Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading System (FPSO) arrived at the offshore field on Sunday.
Galoc Production Co. (GPC), which operates the 17,500 bpd field, has advised a three-week hook schedule, the company added.
"It is anticipated that these activities will take approximately three weeks with the target of achieving first oil by the end of the month," GPC said in an attached release that was issued on Sunday.
The first cargo of crude is anticipated for mid to late June but was not heard marketed yet.
First oil had been expected in the third week of April, senior officials said earlier this year, already slightly behind schedule for a first-quarter launch.
The Galoc field holds deep significance, not only for the Philippines whose meagre output it will hike by some 70 percent to slightly more than 40,000 bpd, but also for Otto Energy and Nido Petroleum (NDO.AX: Quote, Profile, Research), two small independent Australian companies that have bet on underexplored Philippines.
Galoc will be Otto Energy's first oilfield to come onstream.
Otto shares settled at A$0.43 on Monday, off the record high A$0.445 also touched earlier this month.
Nido shares closed 4.21 percent down on Monday at A$0.455, off a high of A$0.50 hit earlier this month.
Both companies underperformed the wider Australian market on Monday, which rose nearly 1 percent to 3-½ month highs.
Otto Energy acquired last December a 31.38 percent stake in GPC, with European trader Vitol holding the remaining 68.62 percent.
GPC operates the Galoc field with a 58.29 percent interest.
The remaining 41.71 percent are split between Nido Petroleum with a 22.28 percent share and several Phillipine partners.
Vitol, and European trader Trafigura, will be the two main marketers of the light sweet crude. (Reporting by Maryelle Demongeot; Editing by Michael Urquhart)
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