The Department of Energy (DOE) is eyeing to issue an amended Circular that will simplify the award of petroleum service contracts (PSCs) to interested investors in the country’s upstream oil and gas industry.

In a draft Circular that was furnished to the relevant industry stakeholders, the energy department stipulated that it shall “further simplify the process of selection and award of service provider contracts for the acquisition and processing of new petroleum data.”

It was similarly specified that such shall bear “no cost to the government and complement its policy on data declassification and free access.”

Previously, the award of petroleum service contracts is done either through auction -- via the Philippine Energy Contracting Round (PECR) -- or investors could also submit unsolicited proposal on their targeted blocks.

The department emphasized that “all areas are considered open for the acquisition of new petroleum data,” provided that the proponent-firms shall be able to comply with all the requisite legal, technical and financial qualifications as prescribed under the rules.

The term of the contract shall not be more than 10 years, according to the energy department, and such must be “renewed or extended upon mutual agreement of the parties.”

“Any juridical person organized for the purpose of providing services relating to the acquisition and processing of petroleum data may submit a proposal to acquire and/or process new petroleum data,” the DOE stated.

The first crucial step, the department said, will be for the interested party to submit a letter of intent (LOI) to the DOE “for the acquisition and/or processing of new petroleum data” that shall be addressed to the Undersecretary in-charge of the Energy Resource Development Bureau (ERDB).

As part of the application process, the proponent-firm shall also be mandated to submit the warranted documentary requirements as well as assessed payment.

“The DOE shall conduct substantive evaluation of the proposal and may require the submission of additional documents or be allowed to complete or rectify its submitted documents within 15 calendar days from receipt of notice,” the draft Circular noted.

Following an evaluation of the application, the proponent-company “shall be notified of the results of the evaluation.”

It was further conveyed that “if the proponent fails to qualify, a ‘notice of disqualification’ shall be issued,” and if the investor qualifies, it shall likewise be issued with the corresponding ‘notice of qualification.”

The prospective rules will similarly enforce that “all petroleum data acquired and/or processed shall be submitted to the DOE within a reasonable timeframe.”

Failure to submit within the prescribed period, as expounded, “shall result in the termination of the processing of the application.”