PNOC-EC coal exploration application passes first hurdle
By Myrna M. Velasco – November 2, 2020, 5:30 AM
from Manila Bulletin
The application of state-run Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration Corporation (PNOC-EC) for two blocks of coal exploration in Mindanao had passed the initial “completeness check” evaluation of the Department of Energy.
The targeted exploration activities will be at blocks 41-I-1 and 42-I-2 in Malangas, Zamboanga Sibugay, which is a domain seen to be endowed with indigenous coal resources.
“The PNOC-EC application for the nominated area passed the completeness check of the legal, technical and financial documentation requirements,” the energy department has announced following the bid opening on Friday (October 30).
The next stage that the tender will need to go through is ‘further substantive evaluation’ by the technical working group (TWG) of the Review and Evaluation Committee (REC) of the energy department.
The department said the process could be completed in 11 days, before endorsing the TWG’s findings to the vice chairman and chairman of REC. Then from that phase, the coal operating contract will have to be issued by the DOE with the approval of the Secretary.
The coal exploration venture of PNOC-EC is the first application submitted to the DOE so far under the Philippine Conventional Energy Contracting Program (PCECP), which has been enticing investors to also plunge into coal exploration and development ventures in the country.
PCECP, of course, is a widely known program in the upstream oil and gas sector, but there had been little attention thrown to it by coal exploration investors since its launching in 2018.
Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi noted that “despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the DOE is committed to tap potential energy exploration so the country could further attain its energy security and sustainability.”
He added the government is bent on advancing the exploration and development of the indigenous resources so this could help meet the country’s energy needs in the foreseeable future.
PNOC-EC President and CEO Rozzano D. Briguez previously indicated they will prioritize projects that could bring substantial revenue stream for the state-run firm; and prospects in Zamboanga Sibugay had been in their immediate investment plans.
Apart from that prospect in Mindanao, the company is likewise eyeing parallel ventures in Isabela province in northern Luzon; and to potentially set up the country’s first mine-mouth power plant that will have a capacity of 50 megawatts.
