THE China International Mining Petroleum Company Ltd. (CIMP) is planning to extend its oil exploration to other parts of western Cebu to increase the volume of commercial oil.
CIMP Country Manager Edgar Benedict Cutiongco said that four billion barrels of oil can be extracted from the Alegria oil field for its entire life span, from 2018 to 2037. It is only the certified deposit, though.
“That will still go up if we extend the area of oil exploration outside Alegria. We are looking at extending our exploration in the western part of Cebu,” Cutiongco said.
He said they may sell the crude oil at US$70 per barrel to power plants in Cebu or have it refined into gasoline or diesel.
Aside from oil, Cutiongco said there is also a deposit of six billion cubic feet of natural gas in Alegria, which can be developed and sold to electric power generators.
The oil field in Alegria, Cutiongco said, can provide power sustainability in the country and reduce dollar spending and customs duties by the Philippines as it is not being imported to Dubai or any oil-producing countries.
Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Alfonso Cusi said the Alegria oil field in Cebu is important in their goal to achieve energy security in the country.
Cusi said that as far as energy sufficiency in the world is concerned, the Philippines is among the top in terms of energy sustainability.
“This is the first on-shore oil well with commercial volume of production, so this is very important to the security of the country,” he said. (EOB)