Thanks Donnabelle L. Gatdula for the article.
MANILA, Philippines - US-based oil exploration giant Exxon Mobil Corp. will commence with the drilling of its second well in South Sulu Sea this week.
Through its affiliate, Exxon Mobil Exploration and Production Philippines B.V., the American oil and gas firm will call the second well, Banduria-1.
“(The first well) will temporarily cemented with a provision for future development. They target to start the second well on or before Jan. 1,” the source said.
Another $100 million is allocated by the company to drill its second well.
According to sources, the oil exploration firm said they are about to finish up the drilling of its first well, Dabakan 1.
Sources said Exxon Mobil is readying the transfer of the semi-submersible drilling rig West Aquarius to the second well site. The same rig was used at the Dabakan-1 well site.
The company is expected to start the towing of the rig to the new site anytime this week.
“The rig is still at the Dabakan site for plug and abandon procedures,” another source said.
It was learned that West Aquarius, a self-propelled dynamically positioned drilling rig, will be moving at the speed of four to five knots from the Dabakan-1 drillsite directly to Banduria-1.
ExxonMobil targets to drill Banduria-1 at the same level as Dabakan-1.
The Dabakan-1 well is located about 65 kilometers/40miles from Mapun Island , a municipality under the Province of Tawi-Tawi.
ExxonMobil Exploration is the operator of SC-56 with a 50 percent interest. Mitra Energy (Philippines SC-56) Ltd and BHP Billiton Petroleum (International Exploration) Pty Ltd each have a 25-percent interest.
The Department of Energy (DOE) announced last Dec. 1 that hydrocarbons were found in the South Sulu Sea during drilling operations under the DOE Service Contract 56 (SC 56), which commenced on October 11, 2009.
Before Dabakan 1, the country found significant oil and gas reserves in Malampaya and Galoc fields in offshore Palawan.
