The Department of Energy will evaluate for 15 days the offer of Sulu Sea Energy Resources Development Corp. to explore for oil and gas in the Sulu Sea under the nomination process of the Philippine Conventional Energy Contracting Program.
Energy Undersecretary Donato Marcos said no company challenged Sulu Sea Energy’s nomination, adding its documentary submissions would undergo evaluation.
“We expected challengers but no one challenged. They (Sulu Sea Energy) are complete in form so we now have to see that they are substantially compliant,” Marcos said.
The agency opened applications for the Sulu Sea Basin on Friday for challengers of Sulu Sea Energy’s nomination for Area 1. The company, established in 2016, is a wholly Filipino-owned company based in Mindanao. Major proponents of the company are residents and community leaders based in the Sulu and Tawi-tawi region.
The agency said nominating companies complied with area clearance and nomination requirements under PCECP guidelines.
The DOE waited for the challengers in Area 1 to submit offers until 11 a.m. yesterday before opening the bid of Sulu Sea Energy
The DoE is also set to open applications for the Northwest Palawan Basin on August 19 and Southeast Luzon basin on August 20.
It has has set up a one-stop-shop at the venue located at the agency’s office in Taguig City to accommodate any last-minute submissions from challengers until the prescribed deadline.
The department is pushing to reinvigorate petroleum exploration and development activities in the country to serve as a cushioning measure against the volatility of oil prices, which has a direct impact on the costs of transport and power.
“We need to increase exploration and development activities in the Philippines so that our country can become energy self-sufficient. The DoE is continuously pushing for the success of the PCECP for the effective, responsible and reasonable development of all our indigenous energy resources,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said earlier.