Texaco gas project in RP

Texaco gas project in RP

MANILA (DPA): Texaco, one of the world's largest oil companies, Thursday acquired a 45 per cent stake in a US$2 dollar gas development project in the western Philippines, President Joseph Estrada said.

Estrada said Texaco's investment in the Malampaya Natural Gas Development project off Palawan province, 600 kilometers southwest of Manila, was "a sign of the continuing confidence of the international business community in the Philippine economy".

Malampaya, a deep-water gas field, is believed to contain more than 2.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 85 million barrels of condensates, enough to generate 3,000 megawatts of electricity for more than 20 years.

It was discovered in the late 1980s by Occidental Philippines (Oxy), the local subsidiary of the U.S.-based Occidental Petroleum. Oxy later took in Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. as partner. In 1998, Shell took over Oxy's interests.

Estrada said Malampaya is expected to deliver its first gas by 2001 and to meet 16 per cent of the country's oil requirements by 2002.