New oil project to ease RP burden

New oil project to ease RP burden

MANILA (AP): The Malampaya natural gas power project near the western Philippine island of Palawan should help reduce the country's dependence on imported oil by at least 25 percent in less than two years, energy officials said Tuesday.

Energy Secretary Mario Tiaoqui said the project should bring in revenues of around US$400 million yearly once operations start at the end of 2001. The government also expects annual foreign exchange savings of $500 million to $600 million because of reduced oil imports.

Based on initial drilling at the Palawan oil field, the government expects the Malampaya project to result in an initial production of around 25,000 barrels of oil daily by the second half of 2001 and 50,000 barrels daily in the future.

Considerable amounts of natural gas have also been found.

The Malampaya project is operated by Shell Philippines Exploration B.V.

The Philippines imports virtually all of its petroleum, unlike Southeast Asian neighbors such as Indonesia and Brunei, which produce large amounts of oil.