THE Department of Energy (DOE) should first consider conducting consultations on the environmental impact before it starts looking for oil in northern Cebu.
So said incoming vice governor and outgoing Gov. Hilario Davide III after the DOE expressed interest in looking for oil in the north following its successful oil exploration in and off the shore of the southwestern town of Alegria.
“Before, there were plans to conduct oil explorations in the southern towns of Sibonga and Argao, but there was opposition from communities. There should be consultations on that,” he said.
In an earlier report, the DOE said it hoped to extract oil in northern Cebu after crude oil and natural gas were found in Alegria.
Energy Resource Development Bureau Director Jesus Tamang said Forum Exploration Inc. is conducting offshore and onshore drilling like the Libertad gas project in Bogo City and the Maya oil prospect in Daanbantayan town.
Bogo City is not new to oil exploration, Tamang said. Natural gas was extracted in the city before this was used up after seven years.
But, according to Davide, he doesn’t recall the offshore and onshore drilling in Bogo City and the oil prospect in Daanbantayan town going through deliberation at the Province level.
“I don’t recall nga niagi na diri sa (that it passed through the) Provincial Government. But I was informed long ago about attempts to explore, though there were no concrete plans then,” he said. (RTF)