14 OIL, GAS EXPLORATIONS BARED

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi bared that the department has received 14 applications for oil and gas exploration activities to search for untapped energy resources in the country.

Speaking at the virtual 16th Energy Investment Forum on Friday, Cusi said the DOE will be awarding service contracts to four interested parties before the year ends.

This is under DOE’s Philippine Conventional Energy Contracting Program (PCECP) that aims to promote exploration activities in pre-determined and nominated areas where there are potential energy resources.

Cusi said he also urged Southeast Asian neighbors at the recent Asean Summit to discuss how to jointly explore oil and gas resources within the shared borders. He added all these efforts are part of the DOE’s goal to increase the share of other energy resources aside from coal.

“We cannot get rid of coal but we are giving a lot of window for renewable energy to catch up and help fill (the) supply to meet Philippine energy demand,” the DOE chief said.

Aside from the PCECP, energy policies to allow more investments in renewable energy include the moratorium on greenfield coal projects and 100-percent foreign ownership on geothermal energy projects.

As of last year, Cusi said the Philippines remained to be the leading country in Asean in terms of renewable energy’s share of the energy mix. The share of renewable energy in the country’s energy mix is at 33 percent, exceeding the Asean target of 23 percent.

The country also targets to increase renewable energy’s share in the supply mix to 35 percent by 2030.