PXP Energy Corp. says it will take years before three newly awarded petroleum service contracts (PSCs) can be fully developed, citing the complexity and long timelines of oil exploration.
Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan told reporters that while the required investments are relatively small—only “several million dollars”—the work ahead is lengthy and complicated. “We have to be patient,” he said.
The Department of Energy (DOE) recently awarded PSC 80 and 81 to a consortium that includes PXP Energy, The Philodrill Corp., Australia’s Triangle Energy, and the UK’s Sunda Energy. The two exploration areas cover more than 1.3 million hectares in the southern Sulu Sea and are jointly managed by the DOE and the Bangsamoro regional government.
Another contract, PSC 86, was granted to a consortium of Filipino firms including PXP Energy. It covers 132,000 hectares in the Northwest Palawan Basin.
Pangilinan acknowledged that oil exploration is a high-risk, capital-intensive business: “It’s really for the big boys… we’re too small, but we do our bit.”
Beyond the new PSCs, PXP also has interests in several other service contracts in the Palawan region. However, two major blocks—SC 72 and SC 75—remain idle due to ongoing territorial disputes with China. Two more contracts in Northwest Palawan are pending government approval and may be awarded in the coming months.
