RP oil firms sign pact

RP oil firms sign pact

MANILA (Reuter): Shell Philippines Exploration and Occidental Philippines have signed a pact with a subsidiary of the state-run Philippine National Oil Co to begin negotiations for a possible venture in a gas pipeline project.

In a joint statement yesterday, Shell and Occidental who are developers of the Camago-Malampaya gas field, the biggest gas field in the country, said the memorandum of understanding was signed with the PNOC-Exploration Corp (PNOC-EC) on Feb. 27.

Shell Philippines is the local exploration arm of the Royal Dutch/Shell group of companies while Occidental Philippines is a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corp.

PNOC-EC president Rufino Bomasang told Reuters that the parties expect an agreement after six months of talks.