Six international and three local companies have submitted applications for Petroleum Service Contracts under the 1st Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Conventional Energy Bid Round and the 2024 Philippine Bid Round.
During the opening of application documents held on 27 August 2024 at the Dusit Thani Hotel Manila, the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources, and Energy (MENRE) announced that three applications were received under the 1st BARMM Conventional Energy Bid Round. The applications include one for PDA-BP-1 (Cotabato Basin), one for PDA-BP-2 (Sulu Sea Basin), and one for PDA-BP-3 (Sulu Sea Basin). All applications were deemed qualified for further substantive evaluation following an initial completeness check.
Meanwhile, under the 2024 Philippine Bid Round, Energy Undersecretary Alessandro Sales announced that the DOE received five applications for Service Contracts for native hydrogen exploration in Central Luzon: three for PDA-PH-1 and two for PDA-PH-2. These applications have also passed the completeness check and are eligible for further substantive evaluation. However, an application for PDA-PD-2 (Alegria Field) was disqualified due to incomplete documentation.
The comprehensive legal, technical, and financial evaluation of all qualified applications will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2024. The service contracts of the highest-ranking applicants from this evaluation will be endorsed to the Office of the President for approval and signing.
This bid round has seen the highest number of valid applications for pre-determined areas compared to the Philippine Energy Contracting Round (PECR) 5 in 2015 and the Philippine Conventional Energy Contracting Program’s (PCECP) 2018-2019 offering. A total of six out of eight pre-determined areas received valid applications, a significant increase that reflects heightened interest from the industry. The next phase will determine whether these applications will translate into petroleum service contracts.
“We are very pleased that well-known international players in hydrogen and petroleum exploration and production have shown interest and participated in this year’s bid round,” said Undersecretary Sales.
Noting the lack of exploration activity in the country over the past 15 years, Undersecretary Sales said, "This activity marks the beginning of a transformative journey that may span several years. If we do not embark on this activity now, it will never come to fruition."
Following the conclusion of the bid rounds, the DOE continues to encourage investors to apply for petroleum service contracts through the nomination process of the PCECP. ###