The Philippines is building defense alliances with the US and other security partners to help pave the way for resource exploration in the oil-and-gas-rich South China Sea, the nation’s top defense official said, amid heightened tensions with Beijing.
China’s Coast Guard maintained near-daily patrols at key features across the disputed South China Sea last year, ramping up its presence as tensions over the waterway with Southeast Asian neighbours remain high, new tracking data shows.
Philippine oil and gas drillers tumbled Wednesday after the top court voided the nation’s 2005 deal with China and Vietnam to jointly explore for oil and gas in the South China Sea, less than a week after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. agreed to revive similar talks with Beijing.
The Baodao 21-1 gas-bearing structure is the first large-scale deep-water natural gas field in the South China Sea with proved gas in place of over 50 billion cubic metres, reported Chinese national oil company CNOOC Limited.
The Philippines is open to new talks with China on oil and gas exploration, the Southeast Asian nation’s top diplomat said.
Rescuers are continuing to search for missing crew following the recovery of 12 bodies from the Fujing 001 wind installation vessel, which broke apart on Saturday in the wake of a tropical storm.
Rescuers are searching for 26 crew members after an offshore wind installation ship split in two and sank off Hong Kong.
China officially told the Indonesian government to stop appraisal drilling at Harbour Energy’s (LON:HBR) Tuna Block offshore Indonesia in maritime territory that both nations view as their own during a months-long standoff in the South China Sea, reported Reuters.
Harbour Energy (LON:HBR) and its Russian partner Zarubezhneft have successfully completed their appraisal drilling campaign at the Tuna Block in the Natuna Sea offshore Indonesia with positive results at both wells.
Jakarta is preparing to bolster its maritime security defences in the Natuna Sea, which is rich in fisheries and natural gas, after increasing incursions by Chinese vessels within Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The news should provide some comfort to upstream oil and gas investors operating in the Natuna Sea.
Indonesia has sent a naval ship to tail a Chinese survey vessel that has been operating close to Harbour Energy’s Tuna Block in the Natuna Sea within Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The government of the Philippines is eyeing a potentially large gas discovery as UK company Forum Energy prepares to drill in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. But geologists remain skeptical about the potential and any unilateral drilling will likely draw Beijing’s ire.
Natural declines and underinvestment in new exploration has left Philippine oil and gas production in freefall posing significant risks to future energy security. The risk is particularly acute given how reliant the Southeast Asian nation is on oil and gas for power generation, industrial processes and transportation, warn analysts at Fitch Solutions. But interest from investors has been rekindled.
A Chinese ship has been meddling with Harbour Energy’s ongoing drilling campaign at its Tuna block in the Natuna Sea offshore Indonesia. Significantly, the appraisal drilling is funded by Russia’s state-backed Zarubezhneft and the incident underscores the fact that Moscow’s energy interests in the South China Sea are increasingly being threatened by China.
Indonesian national oil company (NOC) Pertamina is doggedly pursuing US major ExxonMobil to help it develop oil resources at the giant East Natuna field in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. Development of the field faces huge technical, economic and geopolitical challenges, but Pertamina believes a gradual phased development, starting with oil could offer a solution.
China has been contesting new Malaysian oil and gas development at the Kasawari field offshore Malaysia since early June with China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels harassing the project. The harassment also coincided with Chinese military planes entering Malaysia’s national airspace.
Law makers in the Philippines are seeking to refocus the Philippine National Oil Company’s (PNOC’s) investment mandate towards exploration and production ventures. The move is part of an effort to revive the Southeast Asian nation’s ailing upstream sector and attract new investment as its energy security situation continues to deteriorate.
China’s biggest offshore driller is being targeted in the final days of President Donald Trump’s administration for its activity in the South China Sea.
Chinese oil majors may be next in line for delisting in the US after the New York Stock Exchange said last week it would remove the Asian nation’s three biggest telecom companies.
The Chinese coast guard has been harassing a drilling rig contracted to Thailand’s PTTEP in Malaysian waters off Sarawak as the company attempts to appraise its biggest ever gas discovery.
CNOOC, China’s third-biggest oil company faces a US blacklist, which could spur major outflows from its Hong Kong-listed unit, after years of involvement in offshore drilling in disputed South China Sea waters.
A pair of oil and gas fields controlled by Japanese companies offshore Vietnam could become a potential flash point in the disputed waters of the South China Sea as Beijing continually seeks to aggressively assert its claims.
Petronas has said it is “deeply saddened” after a maintenance vessel crashed into a platform in the South China Sea, killing two people.
Analysts are expecting a backlash from Beijing as Malaysian national oil company (NOC) Petronas prepares to drill in gas-rich Block SK 316 in the South China Sea off the eastern Malaysian state of Sarawak.
Beijing has increased pressure on Hanoi thereby derailing yet another upstream project in the South China Sea.