The Department of Energy (DOE) said six international and three local companies have submitted applications for Petroleum Service Contracts under the first Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Conventional Energy Bid Round and the 2024 Philippine Bid Round.
DOE saidt three applications were received during the opening of application documents last Tuesday in Makati City, together with the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Energy (MENRE), under the first BARMM Conventional Energy Bid Round.
The agency did not identify the companies.
The applications include one for pre-determined area (PDA) BP-1 in Cotabato Basin, one for PDA BP-2 in Sulu Sea Basin and one for PDA BP-3 also in Sulu Sea Basin.
DOE said all applications were deemed qualified for further substantive evaluation following an initial completeness check.
DOE Undersecretary Alessandro Sales said in a statement the agency received five applications under the 2024 Philippine Bid Round for service contracts for native hydrogen exploration in Central Luzon which all passed the completeness check and are eligible for further substantive evaluation.
However, DOE said an application for PDA PD-2 for Alegria field in Cebu was disqualified due to incomplete documentation.
DOE said the comprehensive legal, technical and financial evaluation of all qualified applications will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2024 with the highest-ranking applicants to be endorsed to the Office of the President.
The next phase will determine if these applications will translate into Petroleum Service Contracts.
“We are very pleased that well-known international players in hydrogen and petroleum exploration and production have shown interest and participated in this year’s bid round,” said Sales.
Sales said the activity also “marks the beginning of a transformative journey that may span several years” especially with the lack of exploration activities in the country over the past 15 years.
