IN AN effort to promote development and production of the country's petroleum and coal resources, the Duterte government has signed an oil exploration deal with Israeli-based firm Ratio Petroleum Ltd.
The ceremonial signing of the Petroleum Service Contract (PSC) for Area 4 or East Palawan Basin was held Wednesday, October 17, at the Palace's Reception Hall, MalacaƱang said in a press statement on Thursday, October 18.
Duterte signed the PSC on behalf of the Philippine government, while Ratio Petroleum Ltd. president and chief executive officer Itay Raphael Tabibzada inked for the Israeli company.
The awarded PSC is consistent with the Department of Energy's circular for the fifth round of the Philippine Energy Contracting Round (PECR-5), which was launched in May 2014.
The PECR-5 was established as a transparent and competitive system of awarding service or operating contracts with local or foreign investors for prospective petroleum or coal areas within the country.
The signing came a month after Duterte's historic visit to Israel.
In a statement, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said the oil exploration with Israel, which is the first arrangement done by the Duterte government, would promote the country's energy resources.
"President has been very clear -- our country needs to attain energy security and sustainability at the soonest possible time. We are currently experiencing how our dependence on importation has left us at the mercy of price movements in the global oil markets," said Cusi, who witnessed the signing.
"We need to boost the exploration and development of our own energy resources and the awarding of the petroleum service contract to Ratio Petroleum is a step in the right direction," he added.
Cusi said Ratio Petroleum can now explore Area 4, covering 416,000 hectares across the East Palawan Basin for potential oil and gas resources.
Projected minimum total expenditure is valued at $34.35 million to be derived from studies, data gathering and drilling activities over the initial seven-year contract duration, the Energy chief noted.
Ratio Petroleum, established in 1992, has a number of large-scale operations at the Levant Basin in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Israel, as well as off-shore operations in the Republic of Malta and the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. (SunStar Philippines)