Oil in the Philippines

Malampaya gas-to-power off-shore rig platform for natural gas production.



Ngayong mga nagdaang araw ay mainit ang usapin tungkol sa Spratlys.. Iba't ibang bansa ay umaangkin sa grupo ng maliliit na isla.. samantalang ang China naman ay inaangkin ito, pero kung iisipin ay halos 1000km na ang layo sa kanila.. "Anak ng baklang kalabaw naman itong China.. wala sa ayos!"

Napa isip tuloy ako ngayon... matagal ng nag ooperate ang Malampaya gas-to-power off-shore rig platform para sa natural gas production, pero nakakarating pa yung pakinabang nito sa mga mamamayan o sa mga Pilipino?

Eto ang nakita ko sa aking paghahanap.. malungkot na nakakainis! bakit nakaka amoy na naman ako ng corruption o maling paggamit ng pondo na dapat ay para sa nakakarami.

Kamangmangan at corruption ang dalawang matinding nagpapahirap sa mga Pilipino..☺►

Use of Palawan gas funds for pork hit

By Redempto Anda
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 23:34:00 01/23/2009

Filed Under: Regional authorities, Energy & Resources, Energy

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY – Former Palawan logging mogul and erstwhile billionaire political patron Jose Pepito Alvarez scored local Palawan officials for allegedly misusing the province’s royalty share from the Malampaya natural gas project by treating it as pork barrel.

“I have heard so many complaints (about the Malampaya fund use),” said Alvarez, an ally of President Macapagal-Arroyo.

He said he is opposed to the deal that gave the province’s two congressmen and the governor prerogative to identify projects in their districts to be funded by the local government’s share of the Malampaya profits.

“I am against this 1/3 sharing scheme. The money of Palawan should be put in one fund to be spent by the capitol. This is constructive criticism. The congressmen’s role should be legislative, not administrative,” Alvarez told the Inquirer in an exclusive interview.

He said he would support the initiative of the local Catholic Church to question before the courts the Malampaya sharing agreement.

“I will provide them lawyers and the funds needed. And I will personally hand carry the petition to the President,” said Alvarez, whose younger brother Antonio Alvarez is the congressman of Palawan’s first district.

The Department of Budget has so far released at least P2.6 billion to Palawan as its share from the Malampaya project located in offshore northern Palawan.

The sharing scheme had been arranged even as the Palawan government and Malacañang are contesting before the Supreme Court the territorial jurisdiction over the Camago-Malampaya gas reserves, some 80 kilometers off the northern town of El Nido.

Malacañang claims the gas territory is outside the political boundaries of the province, while Palawan is laying claim to 40 percent of the national government’s royalty based on a provision of the local government code.

Alvarez said there is no proper monitoring of the bidding of projects funded by the province’s Malampaya share.

“How come only a select group of local contractors are undertaking these projects? The projects just revolve around a few contractors. They have no mechanism to conduct proper bidding procedures. If you bid using the three-envelope system, they could have gotten the best prices,” he said.


Shell acquiring 45% of Palawan oil, gas prospect

Shell Philippines Exploration B.V., a unit of the Royal Dutch Shell Group, is buying a 45-percent interest in service contract 54B in northwest Palawan, which contains the promising Gindara prospect.

Nido Petroleum Ltd. disclosed to the Australian Stock Exchange that the transaction would make Shell the largest owner of the oil and gas prospect, with Nido owning 33-percent interest as operator and Yilgarn Petroleum Philippines Pty Ltd. (Kairiki Energy Ltd.) owning 22 percent.

Nido president and chief executive Jocot de Dios said the farm-in agreement would allow Nido to quickly drill the Gindara prospect around March to May next year. The Gindara prospect lies approximately 50 kilometers immediately south of the Shell operated Malampaya gas field in SC 38, the largest discovery made in the Philippines to date.

“This arrangement allows Nido to quickly drill Gindara, our leading prospect, and remain focused on maturing exploration drilling plans in SC 58 and SC 63. Nido is working to deliver the five well exploration program announced earlier in the year,” De Dios said.

Shell, under the farm-in agreement, will take 27 percent from Nido’s 60-percent interest in SC 54B, lowering Nido’s ownership to 33 percent. Shell will also take 18 percent from Kairiki Energy’s 40-percent stake.

Nido said Shell must contribute 75 percent of the Gindara-1 exploration well cost, or up to a maximum of $24 million to earn its participating interest. She will also have to pay $2.5 million past seismic costs and its pro-rata share of the 2010 and 2011 work program and budget, Nido added.

Nido said it might tap the drillship Frontier Phoenix for the spudding of the first Gindara well. Alena Mae S. Flores