By Riza Lozada
Public firm Philodrill Corp (Philodrill) will start drilling an a new deep sea oil prospect in the Galoc field in northwest Palawan, the company reported to the stock exchange.
Philodrill said that as a joint venture partner in Service Contract 14, Block C-1 (Galoc Block), it was a party in the the Galoc Joint Venture, through operator Galoc Production Company W.L.L. in signing a binding rig contract with Golden Maritime Corp. Ltd, for the drillship “Deepsea Metro I” to drill the Galoc-7/7ST appraisal well.
“The Deepsea Metro I is a cutting edge 6th generation drillship with dual derricks. The rig has a main and auxiliary work center to facilitate simultaneous operations and active heave compensating drawworks for safe and efficient operations,” the company reported. The Deepsea Metro I is capable of operating in water depths of up to 10,000 feet and to drill to a total depth of 40,000 feet sub-sea.
The water depth at the Galoc-7/7ST location is approximately 540 meters and the well has a planned total depth of approximately 2660 meters. The Deepsea Metro I is contracted by the Galoc JV for a period of approximately four to five weeks with a contract commencement window of this March 1 to 31. The contract period consists of a firm well and an optional side track.
The Galoc oilfield is situated offshore Northwest Palawan.Philodrill reported that as of December 15, production from the Galoc Field continued currently averaging 4,700 barrels of oil per day. For the first eleven months of the year, the field produced about 1,728,680 barrels which is consistent with the full-year production forecast of 1.897 million barrels for 2016.
By end- 2016, the field is forecast to produce 18.71million barrels since the start of its commercial run in October 2008. “To date, a total of 54 shipments have been completed and sold mostly to traders and refineries in the South East Asia region,” Philodrill reported in December 2016. In October 2016, the Galoc Joint Venture partners formally approved the drilling of the G7 appraisal well and sidetrack which will test the presence and quality of the Galoc Clastic Unit reservoir in the Mid-Galoc area and to determine the type of any reservoired fluid.
The G7 drilling program has been presented to and approved by the Department of Energy (DOE). Well drilling is expected to commence in March 2017. Philodrill currently holds 7.21495 percent interest in SC 14 C-1 (Galoc Block). Philodrill was incorporated on June 26, 1969 engaging in oil, gas, and mineral exploration until in 1989 when it diversified into a holding company and retained petroleum exploration. include as a secondary purpose the Company’s holding company purpose clause.
The company’s active petroleum projects cover production and exploration areas in offshore Palawan and South Sulu Sea and onshore Mindoro under various service contracts with the Philippine government through the Department of Energy.