Cebu gas find declared 'commercial'
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Abigail L. HoInquirer
FORUM Energy PLC, a joint venture of Canada's Forum Energy Corp. and the United Kingdom's Sterling Energy PLC, and the Department of Energy have declared the Libertad gas field in Cebu province, in the central Philippines, as a commercial discovery.
In a statement posted on its official website, Forum Energy says this is the first declaration of a commercial gas field in the Philippines since the Camago-Malampaya gas find off Palawan Island several years ago.
The Libertad gas field, located 100 kilometers north of Cebu City, is expected to generate up to two megawatts of electricity starting next year, following a $2.5-million development program.
Forum chief executive David Robinson said the company was in talks with a Philippine power producer on possible gas supply from Libertad. He declined to identify the local company.
The Philippines currently has three power plants that run on natural gas: the 1,000-megawatt Santa Rita plant and the 500-megawatt San Lorenzo plant -- both of the Lopez group -- and the 1,200-megawatt Ilijan plant. All are Batangas province, and get their natural gas from the Malampaya field.
The Libertad gas field is under Service Contract 40, in which Forum holds a 66.7-percent stake.
The service contract also covers the onshore Maya oil and gas find, and prospects on Jibitnil Island and in the Tanon Strait.
The company said that as these prospects could be found near existing infrastructure networks, they had a lot of potential for commercial development.
Forum also sees production of high-quality steam coal from its coal properties in the first half of next year. The company has two coal operating contracts in central and southern Cebu with proven and probable reserves of 4.9 million tons.
Forum completed in August a key 3D seismic survey across the Sampaguita gas discovery, 250 km southwest of the Malampaya gas field, to determine the commercial potential of the gas find. It said analysis of the survey results would not only give it more information on the commercial potential of the gas find but also help it identify the best location for an appraisal well that may be drilled next year.
According to a recent independent assessment by petroleum consultants PGS Reservoir Ltd., the Sampaguita gas field has estimated potential recoverable gas reserves of up to 2.3 trillion cubic feet. With INQ7.net
posted by philpower @ 11:35 AM,
