Shell drills last well

Shell drills last well

MANILA (AFP): Shell Philippines Exploration has begun drilling its fifth well in the offshore Camago-Malampaya field, in the final stage toward determining reserve volumes and deciding whether to start commercial production, energy officials said yesterday.

Ismael Ocampo, chief of the Department of Energy's oil and gas division, said the drilling in the Malampaya 4 well off southwestern Palawan province would take about three months.

The Camago-Malampaya prospect, the largest oil and gas field in the Philippines, is a 50-50 partnership between the Royal Dutch Shell Group subsidiary and Occidental Petroleum Corp. of the United States. Shell is the operator.

The drilling began on June 18 and has now advanced to 5,305 feet (1,617 meters), or nearly halfway through the programmed 12,650 foot depth (3,856 meters).

Ocampo said that the drilling "will provide the basis for (Shell's) decision to develop" the Malampaya complex, which also includes the adjacent Camago field.