"Tensions between China and the Philippines have spiked in recent weeks as the two sides jostle for control over the Second Thomas Shoal, a potentially oil and gas rich fixture in contested waters.
Nearly one year after Chinese paramilitary forces and the Philippine Navy squared off precariously over the contested
Scarborough Shoal, the Second Thomas Shoal (known as "Ren'ai" in China and "Ayungin" in the Philippines) has emerged as a new regional flashpoint.
The newly contested shoal is 168 kilometers off the Philippine western island of Palawan and almost 965 kilometers from the nearest Chinese port. It has been under the de facto control of Philippine forces for over a decade, with Manila arguing that the shoal is well within its 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Beijing has repeatedly referred to Manila's claims over island and reefs in the area as "illegal occupations".
For the Philippines, maintaining control over the Second Thomas Shoal is not only a question of preserving territorial integrity. The shoal also serves as a critical gateway to the currently Philippine-controlled Reed Bank, situated 80 nautical miles from Palawan and estimated to possess among the largest reserves of untapped oil and gas in the Western Pacific.
In terms of proven and probable reserves of oil and gas, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates the entire South China Sea holds as much as 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Crucially, the bulk of those projected undiscovered hydrocarbon deposits lies specifically within the Reed Bank and surrounding areas.
Citing a US Geological Survey, the EIA estimates "between 0.8 and 5.4 (mean 2.5) billion barrels of oil and between 7.6 and 55.1 (mean 25.5) trillion cubic feet (TCF) of natural gas in undiscovered resources" are in the contested northeast end of the South China Sea, encompassing areas of the contested Spratly Islands and the Reed Bank.
In 1976, the Philippines started exploration and development activities in the Reed Bank area, complementing the nearby Shell-operated Malampaya Natural Gas Field that is responsible for 40%-50% of the power generation for the industrializing northern island of Luzon.
With the natural gas facility set to exhaust its 2.7 trillion cubic feet of reserves in the next decade, Reed Bank is viewed by Manila as crucial to the nation's future energy security. The Philippines currently imports around 40% of its energy needs, which are fast growing with recent strong economic growth.
In 1976, the Philippines started exploration and development activities in the Reed Bank area, complementing the nearby Shell-operated Malampaya Natural Gas Field that is responsible for 40%-50% of the power generation for the industrializing northern island of Luzon.
With the natural gas facility set to exhaust its 2.7 trillion cubic feet of reserves in the next decade, Reed Bank is viewed by Manila as crucial to the nation's future energy security. The Philippines currently imports around 40% of its energy needs, which are fast growing with recent strong economic growth
In 1976, the Philippines started exploration and development activities in the Reed Bank area, complementing the nearby Shell-operated Malampaya Natural Gas Field that is responsible for 40%-50% of the power generation for the industrializing northern island of Luzon.
With the natural gas facility set to exhaust its 2.7 trillion cubic feet of reserves in the next decade, Reed Bank is viewed by Manila as crucial to the nation's future energy security. The Philippines currently imports around 40% of its energy needs, which are fast growing with recent strong economic growth.
For Reed Bank, Manila enlisted the support of the US-based Sterling Energy in 2002 and UK-based Forum Energy in 2005.
The Recto Bank concession, or SC-72, has so far been composed of three drilled wells located at the southwest end of the complex, with two of the wells testing gas at rates of 3.2 million cubic feet per day (MMCF/D). and 3.6 MMCF/D. Since 2008, Forum Energy has been joined by Monte Oro Resources & Energy Inc, forming an Anglo-Filipino consortium to manage the concession. Forum Energy holds a 70% stake in SC-72.
Forum Energy's own estimates put the gas field's gross reserves at over 11 TCF, dwarfing the size of the now semi-exhausted Malampaya. In short, the Reed Bank is a viable and potentially game-changing hydrocarbon reservoir close to both China and the Philippines in the South China Sea".
Source: Asia Times
Nearly one year after Chinese paramilitary forces and the Philippine Navy squared off precariously over the contested
Scarborough Shoal, the Second Thomas Shoal (known as "Ren'ai" in China and "Ayungin" in the Philippines) has emerged as a new regional flashpoint.
The newly contested shoal is 168 kilometers off the Philippine western island of Palawan and almost 965 kilometers from the nearest Chinese port. It has been under the de facto control of Philippine forces for over a decade, with Manila arguing that the shoal is well within its 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Beijing has repeatedly referred to Manila's claims over island and reefs in the area as "illegal occupations".
For the Philippines, maintaining control over the Second Thomas Shoal is not only a question of preserving territorial integrity. The shoal also serves as a critical gateway to the currently Philippine-controlled Reed Bank, situated 80 nautical miles from Palawan and estimated to possess among the largest reserves of untapped oil and gas in the Western Pacific.
In terms of proven and probable reserves of oil and gas, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates the entire South China Sea holds as much as 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Crucially, the bulk of those projected undiscovered hydrocarbon deposits lies specifically within the Reed Bank and surrounding areas.
Citing a US Geological Survey, the EIA estimates "between 0.8 and 5.4 (mean 2.5) billion barrels of oil and between 7.6 and 55.1 (mean 25.5) trillion cubic feet (TCF) of natural gas in undiscovered resources" are in the contested northeast end of the South China Sea, encompassing areas of the contested Spratly Islands and the Reed Bank.
In 1976, the Philippines started exploration and development activities in the Reed Bank area, complementing the nearby Shell-operated Malampaya Natural Gas Field that is responsible for 40%-50% of the power generation for the industrializing northern island of Luzon.
With the natural gas facility set to exhaust its 2.7 trillion cubic feet of reserves in the next decade, Reed Bank is viewed by Manila as crucial to the nation's future energy security. The Philippines currently imports around 40% of its energy needs, which are fast growing with recent strong economic growth.
In 1976, the Philippines started exploration and development activities in the Reed Bank area, complementing the nearby Shell-operated Malampaya Natural Gas Field that is responsible for 40%-50% of the power generation for the industrializing northern island of Luzon.
With the natural gas facility set to exhaust its 2.7 trillion cubic feet of reserves in the next decade, Reed Bank is viewed by Manila as crucial to the nation's future energy security. The Philippines currently imports around 40% of its energy needs, which are fast growing with recent strong economic growth
In 1976, the Philippines started exploration and development activities in the Reed Bank area, complementing the nearby Shell-operated Malampaya Natural Gas Field that is responsible for 40%-50% of the power generation for the industrializing northern island of Luzon.
With the natural gas facility set to exhaust its 2.7 trillion cubic feet of reserves in the next decade, Reed Bank is viewed by Manila as crucial to the nation's future energy security. The Philippines currently imports around 40% of its energy needs, which are fast growing with recent strong economic growth.
For Reed Bank, Manila enlisted the support of the US-based Sterling Energy in 2002 and UK-based Forum Energy in 2005.
The Recto Bank concession, or SC-72, has so far been composed of three drilled wells located at the southwest end of the complex, with two of the wells testing gas at rates of 3.2 million cubic feet per day (MMCF/D). and 3.6 MMCF/D. Since 2008, Forum Energy has been joined by Monte Oro Resources & Energy Inc, forming an Anglo-Filipino consortium to manage the concession. Forum Energy holds a 70% stake in SC-72.
Forum Energy's own estimates put the gas field's gross reserves at over 11 TCF, dwarfing the size of the now semi-exhausted Malampaya. In short, the Reed Bank is a viable and potentially game-changing hydrocarbon reservoir close to both China and the Philippines in the South China Sea".
Source: Asia Times
