PHILIPPINE NEWS SERVICE — A consortium operating the Galoc oil field will drill two more wells next year to increase the output of the country’s only producing reserve.
The field off northwest Palawan, operated by Galoc Production Co., is estimated to contain 10 million barrels of recoverable oil reserves. But Singapore’s Gaffney and Cline Associates, which conducted an independent stiudy, said Galoc could contain up to 49 million barrels.
The field started producing oil in October 2008 and sold over three million barrels to date.
Paul Moore, president of Otto Energy Ltd. of Australia, one of the major stakeholders of Galoc Production, said the operator would drill two wells and expected production of around 4,000 barrels per day for each well. Combined production from the two existing wells is estimated 11,500 barrels per day.
The second phase of Galoc development this year includes “seismic interpretation, well positioning and tie-back preparations.”
The consortium aims to start the second stage of development by the first half of 2011.
Energy Undersecretary Ramon Oca earlier told reporters that Galoc Production and consortium members of Service Contract 14 “might drill two new wells… either for additional production or to keep production at current levels.”
“They are reviewing it [data]. Their decision to drill depends on the results of the data,” he said.
Nido Petroleum Ltd., another member of the consortium, said it was updating its reserves assessment of the Galoc oil field because of the “current and meaningful understanding of the developed reserves, the undeveloped reserves and any other remaining potential in the field.”
“We will advise the market once this work is concluded in early 2010,” it added.
Members of Galoc Production, which owns 58.29 percent of the consortium, are Vitol Group (68.6 percent), an international oil company and Otto (31.4 percent).