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.