Just found this, worth a read:
Sterling Aims to Drill For Philippines Gas in 2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mail this story to a friend | Printer friendly version
MALAYSIA: May 18, 2005
KUALA LUMPUR- British oil exploration group Sterling Energy Plc hopes to drill by next year in the west Philippines' Sampaguita gas field after a seismic survey by early next month, a company official said on Tuesday.
"We're going to be shooting a large 3D (three-dimensional) seismic survey starting late May, early June, appraising an existing gas discovery in the Philippines," Andrew Grosse, exploration director for Sterling, told Reuters.
"If that proves successful, we hope to drill a well in 2006," he said in an interview on the sidelines of an industry conference in the Malaysian capital.
Sterling, one of the world's fastest-growing energy firms, with cash reserves of $500 million within five years of incorporation, plans to spend less than $15 million for the survey and drilling in the Philippines.
"The 3D seismic survey will cost about $4 million and a well, we anticipate, would cost about $10 million," Grosse said. "It would initially be one well. We'll see what the results are before we decide what to do next."
Sterling acquired the Sampaguita field in 2002 under a licence to explore an area known as Reed Bank, totalling 10,420 sq km (4,023 sq miles) and located west off Philippines' Palawan island.
The British energy firm has estimated Sampaguita's gas reserves as large enough for a standalone gas-to-liquid (GTL) development. If not, it said, the project could be tied to the Malampaya gas field, located 80 km off the coast of Palawan and operated by Shell.
Malampaya, which came onstream in 2002, has gas reserves of 3.4 trillion cubic feet (tcf).
Grosse said Sterling anticipated no problems in finding customers for Sampaguita's gas, given projected demand for power in the Philippines.
"The gas usage in the Philippines is much lower than any other country in Southeast Asia and there are enough power producers and potential industrial users waiting for new supply," he said.
"The Philippine government intends to cut back on oil-fuelled power stations, which are costing a lot of money to maintain, and also promote a cleaner environment with the use of gas."
The Philippines has total installed power generating capacity of 15,736 megawatts (MW), the government said in November, adding that another 8,650 MW was needed by 2014 to avert a supply crunch.
Story by Barani Krishnan
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/30844/story.htm