Philippines to drill at China-claimed reef

A Philippine oil firm said on Thursday that it would start drilling in 2013 at a potentially massive natural gas field at a reef in the South China Sea also claimed by China.

The drilling of ‘two appraisal wells’ at Reed Bank will be carried out by August, 2013, said Philex Petroleum chair Manuel Pangilinan.

‘We need to do a lot before we know the amount of resources beneath those waters,’ he told stockholders.

His comments come amid high tension with China over territorial disputes in the South China Sea, with Manila and Beijing locked in a standoff over the Scarborough Shoal.

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_799918.html

 

Category: ResourceAsia