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PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte lifted the moratorium on oil exploration in the Western Philippine Sea, the Department of Energy (DoE) said on Thursday.
The president approved the DoE’s recommendation to resume oil exploration in the disputed waters.
In a statement Thursday, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said that the lifting of the moratorium was achieved in good faith and with full consideration of the ongoing negotiations between the Philippines and China, Forum Ltd. and China National Offshore Corp..
The Secretary of Foreign Relations, Teodoro Locsin, was informed of this fact.
“The oasis of peace envisioned by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs must also be an oasis of prosperity. For this to happen, the Philippines must restart its economy using the engine of energy resilience and security, ”Cusi said in a letter to Locsin.
Cusi expressed gratitude to Duterte for the lifting of the exploration ban and said this can help ensure energy security in the country.
“With the imminent depletion of our natural gas reserve in Malampaya, it is the department’s position that there is an urgent imperative to resume exploration, development and production activities within our EEZ to ensure the continuity of supply of indigenous resources in the country. Cusi said.
With this development, the DoE issued the notice of “Resumption of work” to the entities that handle Service Contracts (SC) 59, 72 and 75.
SC 59 and 72 are operated by Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC) and Forum Ltd., respectively. Meanwhile, PXP Energy Corp. operates SC 75.
Cusi said that lifting the suspension will infuse the economy with new foreign direct investment and generate highly-skilled jobs, which are necessary to boost economic recovery after the 2019 coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
“Lifting the suspension places service contractors under a legal obligation to put capital into contract areas and hire Filipino engineers and technical workers to resume exploration,” he said.
The government, under the administration of former President Benigno Aquino 3rd, imposed a moratorium on all exploration and drilling activities in the Western Philippine Sea in 2015 amid the maritime dispute with Beijing.
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