A consortium led by Australian company Nido Petroleum Ltd. hopes to extract more oil from the Galoc oil field located 60 kilometers northwest off Palawan.
Nido Petroleum’s subsidiary Galoc Production Co. WLL signed a binding rig contract with Golden Close Maritime Corp. Ltd. for the drillship “Deepsea Metro I” to drill an appraisal well at the Galoc mid area on behalf of the Galoc joint venture.
Nido said the Deepsea Metro I is a cutting edge drillship capable of simultaneous, safe and efficient operations. “The Deepsea Metro I will be contracted by the Galoc joint venture for a period of approximately four to five weeks with a contract commencement window of March 1 to 31, 2017,” it said.
The Deepsea Metro I is capable of operating in water depths of up to 10,000 feet and drilling to a total depth of 40,000 feet.
Golden Close Maritime Corp. Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deepsea Metro Ltd. which is 40 percent owned by the Odfjell Drilling group.
Nido managing director Mike Fischer said the consortium was looking forward to drilling operations commencing in the Philippines “as we seek to unlock the potential for extending the field life of our cornerstone asset.”
Nido and its joint venture partners are pursuing the appraisal well at the Galoc mid area of the Galoc field in northwest Palawan in preparation for the eventual depletion of the remaining reserves by 2019.
“If the Galoc-7/7ST is successful, the subsequent development of the GMA will materially increase reserves and production, substantially extending the life of the Galoc field,” Nido said earlier.
“Production at the Galoc field is currently declining and based on Nido’s proven reserves, estimates is anticipated to become sub-commercial in 2019,” Nido said.
The successful development of the GMA will extend the life of the Galoc field to the first quarter of 2027. Members of the Galoc joint venture are Nido, Kufpec, Oriental Petroleum and Minerals and The Philodrill Corp.
The Galoc oil field produces an average daily of production of 5,079 barrels a day. The field has produced over 17.8 million barrels since 2008.