No official word from AJM regarding this as yet (to my knowledge). Nothing really to report as yet. But hopefully we bad a few good coal tenements!
"BAGUIO -- Next week’s auction for coal and petroleum areas under the fifth leg of the Philippine Energy Contracting Round (PECR) has been pushed back due to schedule constraints, an Energy department official said during the weekend. “There was a request that we move it because there are important officials that we want to be there. They could not make it on the original date so we have to reschedule it,” Energy Undersecretary Ramon Allan V. Oca said in a phone interview.
The launch of PECR 5 was to take place on April 25 at the InterContinental Manila. “We have set a new date for PECR 5 and that will be on May 9,” Mr. Oca said.
The PECR program, launched in 2003, identifies areas for exploration and development that will be offered to investors.
The Energy department initially planned to offer nine petroleum and 11 coal areas for exploration and development. Mr. Oca said the department was “now looking to offer 16 coal areas and around 19 areas but [the] actual number will be finalized by the end of this month.”
He declined to provide more details.
Under the PECR 4 that took place in 2012, the Energy department offered 38 coal and 15 petroleum blocks.
That auction generated 69 bids for 28 coal contracts and 20 for the 11 petroleum areas on offer, but only 11 for coal and five for petroleum were ruled to be qualified.
The eight firms that bagged the 11 coal operating deals were Altura Mining Philippines, Inc.; South Davao Development Corp.; Semirara Mining Corp.; Empire Asia Mining Corp.; SKI Mining Corp.; PNOC-Exploration Corp.; Mega Philippines, Inc.; and Blackstone Mineral Resources, Inc.
Petroleum service contracts, meanwhile, were granted to Australian firm Planet Gas Pty Ltd.; the consortium of Philex Petroleum Corp., PNOC-EC and PetroEnergy Resources Corp.; the consortium of Pitkin Petroleum Plc and Philodrill Corp.; NorAsian Energy Philippines Inc.; and Australian firm Loyz Oil Pte Ltd.
Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla earlier said that areas with no takers during the PECR 4 would again be auctioned off in the next round. He also pledged to provide assistance to the winning bidders in terms of securing government endorsements. -- Claire-Ann Marie C. Feliciano"
