Israeli firm Ratio Petroleum has reported to the Department of Energy that has identified at least two petroleum plays that it could elevate for further survey and prospectively drilling - that in turn may lead to potential oil and gas discovery to help advance the country’s energy security agenda.

In a statement to the media on Thursday, Feb. 9, the DOE indicated that within the specified plays there had been “over 20 leads delineated within their contract block,” following the completion of the first phase of their work program in October 2020.

The DOE-awarded block as exploration and production (E&P) venture to Ratio Petroleum under Service Contract (SC) 76 spans 648,000 hectares at water depth of 80 to 1,700 meters.

Energy Undersecretary Alessandro O. Sales noted that “Ratio Petroleum’s initial work program has resulted in the identification of numerous leads that emphasize the prospectiveness of the basin.”

The energy official conveyed that Ratio Petroleum is currently in the process of “seeking a partner to participate in unlocking the basin’s potential at the early stages of exploration,” adding that for interested parties this would be an opportunity “to take part in the next phase of planning and acquiring 3D seismic data, which will further define the full potential of SC 76.”

He expounded that “several leads show clear anomalies, which support the concept of the basin being gas prone.”

Ratio Petroleum is considered as a ‘brave soul investor’ that entered the Philippine upstream petroleum industry – because it came even at a time when tax concerns on the sector has yet to be resolved with finality through the Malampaya case that is pending with the Supreme Court.

The Israeli energy firm had recently apprised Energy Secretary Raphael P. M. Lotilla and the other energy officials on the preliminary outcome of the seismic survey that they have carried out in their block in the East Palawan basin.

From the initial leads gathered, Ratio Petroleum told the energy chief that they would “further study these leads in order to upgrade them into prospects suitable for well drilling to confirm the presence of oil and gas deposits in the area.”

As fleshed out by the DOE, the approved work program for Ratio Petroleum stretches seven years of exploration to be carried out over three phases.

The first phase, according to the energy department, delves with the acquisition of 2D seismic data – and that part of its work program started in October 2018.

Following the conclusion of that component of its work program, the DOE stated that the preliminary outcome in Ratio Petroleum’s sedimentary fill in the basin “reaches up to more than 10 kilometers in local depocenters, which provides favorable conditions for a petroleum kitchen.”

In particular, the energy department emphasized that “available seismic datasets show that the Northern East Palawan basin comprises a well-developed slope-to-basin channel system.”

Further, the second phase of the Israeili firm’s submitted work program comprises the acquisition of 3D seismic data “that would further refine the image of the area’s subsurface geology covering the most prospective clastic and carbonate leads” – and that shall be completed in two years.

Additionally, the third phase will require the drilling of one exploration well; and this will be used as gauge “to ascertain the presence of oil and gas in the area.”