TWO Cebu fields requiring different types of investments were the sites President Rodrigo Duterte visited yesterday. Today, he will visit Tabogon, a town more than 80 kilometers south of Cebu City, to attend a fiesta and a reunion hosted by the mayor, a relative.
He began his visit in Alegria, where oil and gas production ceremonially began in an oilfield in Barangay Montpellier.
Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, who went with the President, urged more investors in the oil and gas industry to do business here, adding that “more oil exploration activities in the country will boost economic activities and generate jobs.”
After that, President Duterte proceeded to open the Philippine National Games (PNG), where he announced that the top five winning delegations’ prizes will be doubled.
It took around 1,000 police officers to secure the Alegria oilfield and the Cebu City Sports Complex, where the President’s visits went smoothly and peacefully, said Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 spokesperson Supt. Reyman Tolentin.
Before this, President Duterte’s latest visit to Cebu was in early February, when he launched an assistance center in the region’s largest public hospital, met with police and military commanders, and addressed a group of local government officials.
The start of production in Alegria, which the President visited yesterday, is a breakthrough in the oil and gas industry that was nearly nine years in the making.
Exploration and drilling activities started in 2009 and received an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) last June 3, 2015.
Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella said the Department of Energy (DOE) monitoring six exploration wells drilled by China International Mining Petroleum Co. Ltd. (CIMP) and its partners. Work on the first well began in October 2014 and the sixth well was completed in March 2018.
Quarter-century
CIMP and its partners Skywealth Group Holdings Ltd. and Phil-Mal Energy International Inc. have a 25-year production contract that may be extended by 15 years.
All six exploration wells resulted in the discovery of oil and gas resources with potential commercial quantities of 27.93 MMBO (million barrels of oil) and 9.42 BCF (billion cubic feet), respectively.
For 2018, CIMP has programmed to drill three additional development wells. The Alegria Oilfield covers a total area of 197,000 hectares, with about 42,749 hectares devoted to the production area.
Based on the development plan crafted after the initial testing, the natural gas and oil production of the field may last until the year 2037.
A crowd that waited for President Duterte in Alegria began waving and taking pictures of him with their phones before he could disembark from his vehicle. An even bigger and louder crowd met him in the Cebu City Sports Center.
In his speech at the opening of the Philippine National Games, the President announced that he would double all the top five prizes, which will now range from P2 million for the fourth runner-up to P10 million for the champions.
Some 3,000 delegates are competing in the sports meet, divided by local government units.
Duterte said the increase will inspire the athletes to do their best. Additional amounts for the prizes will be coursed through the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).
The President urged the PSC to continue its collaboration with local government units in all the sporting events.
Before the President’s speech, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña gave the welcome remarks, followed by the oath of athletes, coaches and officiating officials.
READ: Duterte doubles PNG cash prizes
Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William Ramirez and PSC Commissioner Ramon Fernandez also gave plaques of appreciation to Mayor Osmeña and Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III for hosting the event.
As for the police, Supt. Tolentin said: “There were no untoward incidents that happened and the troops were manageable.”
Cebu City Police Office Director Joel Doria said that their civil disturbance management units also helped protect the President. (EOB, RVC, JOB)