Commodity Online
Mining major BHP Billiton Pty. Ltd. (ASX: BHP) is willing to exercise its option to participate in an oil and gas exploration project in Southern Sulu Sea (Philippines).
Based in Australia, BHP Billiton is a diversified natural resources enterprise.
Trading platform that even a 5 year old can trade. Join now
The existing contractors in the area, which is covered by Service Contract (SC) No. 56, are Exxon-Mobil Exploration and Production Philippines B.V., a subsidiary of oil giant Exxon-Mobil (NYSE:XOM) & Mitra Energy Co.
XOM is the field operator holding a 50% stake while Mitra accounts for the remaining 50% and 25% shall be assigned to BHP Billiton Pty. Ltd.
SC 56 is located 65 kilometers from the town of Mapun in the province of Tawi Tawi at the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao of Philippines. The area covers 8,500 hectares in the Sulu Sea and is considered to be one of the most promising areas for oil and gas exploration as indicated by prior drilling activities.
Notably, the joint venture in charge of the Galoc oil field off Palawan is poised to pay the government US$171,226.04.
The Galoc oil field is estimated to contain 10 million barrels of oil, and produces between 12,000 and 14,000 barrels per day from two subsea wells.
Crude oil from Galoc is anticipated to generate foreign exchange savings for the country worth over US$1 billion during its lifetime.
BHP gained 0.16% closing at 36.7 at Australia Stock Exchange on Thursday. It touched a 52-week high of 40.33 and low of 20.
