Philippines: Galoc oil field to start production.

This is from the IHT.
This is great news for the Philippines which is almost entirely dependent upon imported oil.
The cost of fuel is quite high in the Philippines especially in relationship to income. The independent jeepney drivers are always on the virge of going under because of the slowness with which fares are adjusted to costs and customers too with limited incomes are in turn hurt by the necessary increases in fares.

Philippines' Galoc offshore oil field to start production next week
The Associated Press
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
MANILA, Philippines: The Philippines' Galoc offshore oil field will start commercial production next week, initially pumping about 20,000 barrels daily, an official said Tuesday.
The news of the first oil field development in the Philippines in 16 years came as a relief to the oil importing country amid the rapid increases in petroleum prices. A consortium of mostly Philippine companies will pump the oil.
Galoc, about 220 miles (350 kilometers) southwest of Manila, has an estimated reserve of 10 million to 20 million barrels of "high-quality oil" that is light, non-waxy, and has medium sulfur content, Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes told reporters Tuesday.
Reyes said domestic refineries "will be given the first priority" once Galoc starts flowing oil on June 16 at 17,000 to 20,000 barrels per day.
"So rather than being exported, it will be consumed locally," he said.
He said additional exploration will be conducted to confirm more reserves.
The consortion is called Galoc Production Co., which includes Oriental Petroleum & Minerals Corp., Linapacan Oil & Gas Power Corp., and Forum Energy Philippines Corp. and other partners.
Galoc's oil will be benchmarked at international prices and is expected to result in US$1.4 billion (euro890 million) foreign exchange savings for the country, Reyes said.
Reyes also said Exxon Mobil Corp. has expressed interest in exploring for oil and gas in the Sulu Sea, south of Galoc.
He said Exxon has not yet disclosed its estimate of the reserves in the area, but the government is encouraged that such a large oil producer was exploring.
"Being a major, major player, they do not go into any area until the reserves in their estimation is large and quality oil," he said.
He said company officials will meet with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo later in the week.
Notes:

Copyright © 2008 The International Herald Tribune www.iht.com

Philippines' Galoc oilfield to start in April

This if from Reuters.
This is good news since the Philippines is very much dependent on foreign oil making the cost of gasoline and diesel quite high.


REFILE-UPDATE 1-Philippines' Galoc oilfield to start in April
Thu Feb 28, 2008 3:26am EST
(Corrects web site name in paragraph 4.)

(Adds details throughout)

By Maryelle Demongeot

SINGAPORE, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The Philippines' 17,500 barrels per day (bpd) Galoc oilfield will start commercial production in April, slightly behind plans for a first-quarter launch, an executive with Nido Petroleum Ltd (NDO.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday.

The new crude will raise the Philippines' domestic crude oil output by some 70 percent to up to 42,500 bpd and will provide the first major crude oil addition to the Asia-Pacific region this year.

"Wells are now ready for production services in April 2008," Jon Pattillo, head of exploration for Australia's Nido Petroleum, which holds a 22.279 percent in the development, told an industry conference in Singapore.

Two wells, Galoc-3 and Galoc-4, were completed earlier this month. Galoc-4 flowed at 6,150 bpd and Galoc-3 at 5,200 bpd, operator Galoc production company said in statements earlier this month (www.galoc.com).

The light sweet crude, with a 35 American Petroleum Institute (API) gravity will be marketed by European trader Vitol, a partner in the field, said a company official last year.

Around 240,000 bpd of new sweet crude are expected to come onstream in Asia this year, well below oil demand in the region.

Benchmark Malaysian Tapis crude settled at a record-high of $104.00 a barrel on Wednesday, according to Reuters calculations, above over other bellwethers, which also hit records, reflecting the higher quality of Asia-Pacific grades.

Pattillo said the timing for the Galoc field to come on stream could not have been better. "With $100 oil, the timing is perfect," he told the 13th Asia Upstream Conference.

Pattillo had predicted at the same conference last year that Galoc could come online in the fourth quarter of 2007 and other officials said later in the year the field would start during the first quarter of this year.

Pattillo told Reuters on the sidelines of the conference the timing had slipped from the year-ago plans because of delays in drilling the wells.

The country consumes about 330,000 bpd, which forces it to rely on expensive crude imports.

Other partners in the Galoc field, located in the Northwest Palawan basin, offshore Philippines, include several Philippine companies, Australia's Otto Energy (OEL.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) and Vitol. (Editing by Ramthan Hussain)


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