A deeper probe into what the country can extract as indigenous oil and gas resources is being pushed in the Senate, that way the government can already gauge what policy improvements shall be pursued to entice capital flow into the exploration and production (E&P) investment terrain.

This deeper drive into the country’s petroleum prospects is being initiated by Senate Committee on Energy Vice Chairman Sherwin T. Gatchalian, who filed a resolution seeking inquiry to reinforce exploration activities at the West Philippine Sea.

“The Senate inquiry is intended to push exploration, development, and utilization of such oil and gas reserves toward achieving energy security and self-sufficiency,” the lawmaker said.

The last targeted petroleum seismic survey and drilling at the West Philippine Sea was in April this year – primarily at the Recto Bank prospect of Pangilinan-led PXP Energy. However, that exercise was snagged following the unwarranted impediment that China had instigated on vessels traversing disputed territories at the West Philippine Sea.

The Department of Energy (DOE) is currently revving up investment invitations for oil and gas exploration ventures into the country, but it remains a major question if other WPS claimants will not launch any assault this time on vessels that will be deployed for seismic survey and exploration activities.

In Gatchalian’s view, the relentless surge in oil prices in the world market must already serve as a wake-up call for the government to seriously consider harnessing the indigenous petroleum resources of the country.

“Given persistent global energy shocks, it is important for us to ascertain the oil and gas potential in the West Philippine Sea for the country to have some level of stability and protection from the tumultuous geopolitical conflict in foreign countries that has severely impacted local energy prices,” he stressed.

To the DOE’s credit, it is currently addressing policy ambiguities that have been distressing E&P investors – and these include the taxation policy as questioned by the Commission on Audit (COA); as well as the signing of service contracts (SCs) that shall be executed by the President, in keeping with the legal jurisprudence set forth by a case of the Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd. (JAPEX) that was decided by the Supreme Court in 2015.

As culled from DOE data, the potential oil reserves that could be extracted from the West Philippine Sea could top 6.203 billion barrels; while prospective gas production may reach up to 12.158 trillion cubic feet (TCF), as based on 2021 figures.

Gatchalian qualified that “the lack of oil and gas exploration and as a result of the lack of indigenous oil and gas have contributed to the country’s import dependence with 98-percent of petroleum products imported as of 2021 and lack of energy self-sufficiency.”

The country’s inclination to import almost all of its oil and gas requirements has not just been wobbling the country’s quest for energy security, but this will also trigger depletion of its greenback reserves because it will be needing more US dollars for its fuel purchases.