Philodrill moves to extend control of Palawan gas field
Oil exploration firm The Philodrill Corp. is seeking to renew and expand oil exploration activities in the West Linapacan gas field as its Service Contract (SC) 14C2 in Palawan expired yesterday.
In a disclosure on Thursday, Philodrill said SC 14C2, which covers the West Linapacan Block offshore Palawan, had expired on Dec. 17. This marked the end of the final 15-year extension granted by the Department of Energy in 2010.
The company currently serves as the operator of the service contract.
To ensure continuity of operations, the Philodrill-led joint venture submitted in November an application for a new Development and Production Petroleum Service Contract.
The proposed new contract seeks to allow further exploration and redevelopment of the West Linapacan area using more advanced technology and an expanded contract footprint.
According to the disclosure, West Linapacan is considered a mature exploration block with a proven petroleum system and remaining recoverable oil.philodrill
The block contains two identified oil-bearing structures—West Linapacan A and West Linapacan B—both trapped by fault-related folding within the fractured Linapacan Limestone reservoir.
West Linapacan A had been brought into production in 1992 and reached a peak output of about 18,700 barrels of oil per day.
However, increasing water production over time led to declining oil output, eventually resulting in the field being shut in by 1996 amid a period of low global oil prices.
Despite its closure, the structure produced a cumulative total of 8.5 million barrels of oil.
West Linapacan B, meanwhile, was discovered in 1993 but has not yet been developed. Testing conducted at the time showed successful oil and gas flows, but the structure remains untapped due to operational and economic considerations.
Expansion plans
Under the proposed new petroleum contract, the joint venture plans to deploy modern exploration and production techniques to revive output at West Linapacan A while moving forward with the long-delayed development of West Linapacan B.
The application also seeks to significantly expand the contract area—from the current 17,724 hectares (ha) to around 82,000 ha—by incorporating adjacent open acreage.
Philodrill traces the origins of SC 14 to 1975, when the original petroleum service contract was awarded. West Linapacan later became a distinct sub-block under an amendment that took effect in 1979, eventually operating as SC 14C2.
The company said the renewal application reflected its intention to continue exploring and developing domestic oil resources, subject to regulatory approval, as the country looks to maximize remaining petroleum potential in mature offshore basins.
