hydrocarbon deposit found in sulu sea

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Breaking News (Updated as of 04:26PM, 12/01/2009 )

Hydrocarbon deposit found in Sulu Sea

EXXON Mobil Corp. has struck hydrocarbon deposit in its exploration block in the Sulu Sea, spurring the multinational oil giant to drill further down the existing well and to drill another one.

“Logs taken at the Dabakan-1 well indicate that we encountered reservoir sands and hydrocarbons. The well will be drilled further to a total depth of approximately 5,000 meters (16,400 feet), setting the record for the deepest well drilled in the Philippines,” Ian A. Fischer, managing director of ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Philippines B.V., said in a statement.

Mr. Fischer added that "data analysis and additional studies are being conducted to evaluate the potential of the find."

The company plans to drill another well within the month. ExxonMobil has said that it is spending $1 million per day for the exploration activity.

The exploration drilling is being done using Seadrill West Aquarius deepwater semi-submersible rig, which is designed to operate in water depths of up to 3,000 meters with a maximum drilling depth of about 10,000 meters.

ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Philippines B.V. is the operator of Service Contract 56 with 50% interest. Mitra Energy Limited and BHP Billiton Pty. Ltd each have 25% interest in SC-56.

The Department of Energy estimates possible reserves at SC 56 at about 750 million barrels, which, if proven right, may be enough to fuel our oil requirement for the next seven years.

In a press conference early today, Energy secretary Angelo T. Reyes said the hydrocarbon find moved the exploration team "from being cautiously optimistic to being reasonably optimistic."

Texas-based ExxonMobil is the world's largest publicly traded oil and gas company with upstream operations in 38 countries in the world.

The company is a direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Co., which lorded over the global petroleum industry's budding years in the late nineteenth century. -- Jose Bimbo F. Santos

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