Manila: The Philippines is returning to large-scale government-funded mapping of its oil and gas basins after about four decades, betting nearly PHP2.8 billion on new geophysical data to lure explorers back to areas once considered promising for natural gas. During the Senate hearing on the Department of Energy's (DOE) proposed 2027 budget Thursday, officials said the Philippine Gradiometry and Seismic Survey Project will cover about 120,000 square kilometers in the Agusan-Davao and Visayan basins.
According to Philippines News Agency, DOE Undersecretary Alessandro Sales stated that the last comparable government data-acquisition campaign was undertaken in the 1980s with financing from the World Bank. Sales described the initiative as a significant milestone, emphasizing the renewed investment in the country's own basins after many decades. The project will initially cover 40,000 square kilometers in the Agusan-Davao basin in 2026 before expanding to another 80,000 square kilometers in the Visayan basin in 2027.
The government has allocated PHP2.789 billion for this undertaking, which the DOE estimates could generate a 602-percent return on investment by reducing exploration risks and encouraging private companies to bid for petroleum service contracts. The entire survey area could accommodate as many as 120 individual exploration service contracts, and developing only 10 percent of that potential could draw approximately PHP16.8 billion in private investment, even before accounting for any commercial oil or gas discoveries.
Sen. Pia Cayetano, who presided over the budget hearing, highlighted the significance of the government investment, noting that petroleum companies typically bear substantial upfront exploration costs without any guarantee of finding commercially viable resources. Cayetano stressed the importance of making people aware of the country's investment in such exploration initiatives.
Sales pointed out that the two basins were deliberately selected because earlier studies from the 1970s and 1980s indicated they were gas-prone. However, exploration did not progress when natural gas had yet to become a commercially important fuel. He noted that these areas had been effectively 'forgotten' as investment and exploration activity declined, but emphasized their potential importance for the country's future if indigenous gas resources are discovered.
The DOE's Philippine Energy Plan 2023-2050 identifies the gradiometry and seismic survey as a means to obtain new data on underexplored sedimentary basins, improve understanding of their petroleum potential, and identify possible new oil and gas fields. Updated government data could make exploration more attractive to investors, as they would have better information before committing large amounts of capital.
The renewed survey aligns with the government's efforts to reduce reliance on imported fuel and complement renewable energy as the country expands its power supply. DOE officials noted that a preference for locally produced gas under the country's natural gas policy could further strengthen the investment case, as companies that successfully discover commercial reserves would have a domestic market for their output.
The survey is among the major projects driving the DOE's proposed PHP5.58-billion budget for 2027.
