First Oil Production at Galoc

Nido Petroleum Ltd (Nido) announce that oil production has commenced from the Galoc oil field, offshore Palawan Island in the Philippines. Oil production commenced on 9 October 2008. Oil is now flowing to the FPSO ‘Rubicon Intrepid’.

Ms. Joanne Williams, Nido’s Deputy Managing Director, said “We at Nido have been patiently working towards this day since 2004 and I am very proud today to see the commencement of oil production from Galoc. After many challenges throughout the execution of the development programme, I congratulate our Joint Venture Partners and the Department of Energy for their dedication and concerted efforts to bring this project to fruition.”

Oil production commenced from Galoc to the Floating Production Storage and Offtake (FPSO) vessel at 10:45am local time on 9 October 2008. Crude oil flowed into the storage tanks of the vessel at 11.20am. Galoc will be brought into production shortly as planned and flow rates will be gradually increased over the coming days. Following this, an extensive well testing programme will be undertaken to fully assess the productivity of each well. This commissioning and testing period is expected to take between 2 to 4 weeks to complete, during which time the optimal stabilised flow rate of the wells will be determined. Over the coming months, Nido and its Joint Venture partners will gather production data and combine this with the results of the detailed analysis from the development drilling to determine the viability of a second phase of the development.

Reflecting on the results of the development so far, Ms. Williams went on to say “Whilst we have seen several disappointing and frustrating delays during the development execution, it has been just on 23 months since the Final Investment Decision (FID) was made by the Joint Venture. From my own experience, if you can get any oil-patch development from FID to production in less than 2 years it is a huge success, and this is especially the case in offshore, remote areas such as the Palawan.”

Nido’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Jocot de Dios, said “It has been some 27 years since the discovery of Galoc and in 2004, the new management of Nido saw this field as a great opportunity to pursue. Through the persistence of Nido, the Operator, Galoc Production Company and our Joint Venture partners, Galoc is now a producing oil field.”

“First oil production signals the completion of the first oil field development project in the Philippines since 1992. Galoc will have a huge impact on the Philippines as it more than doubles the indigenous oil production for the country. This is very exciting for both Nido and the Philippines!”

“Of course, the Joint Venture’s efforts have been complemented by the dedication and hard work of the men and women of the Department of Energy under the leadership of Secretary Angelo Reyes. The continued support of the Secretary and his team has been crucial to the success of Galoc.”