Philippines, China Terminate Talks on Joint Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration

Reuters
Thursday, June 23, 2022

The Philippines' outgoing foreign minister said on Thursday that talks over joint energy exploration between his country and China in the South China Sea had been terminated, citing constitutional constraints and issues of sovereignty.

The two countries have sparred for decades over maritime sovereignty and had since 2018 pledged to jointly explore oil and gas assets in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ), despite China also laying claim to them.

"We got as far as it is constitutionally possible to go. One step forward from where we stood on the edge of the abyss is a drop into constitutional crisis," Teodoro Locsin said in a speech.

"Three years on and we had not achieved our objective of developing oil and gas resources so critical for the Philippines — but not at the price of sovereignty; not even a particle of it."

It was not clear when the decision was taken. China's embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Philippines, which relies overwhelmingly on fuel imports, has struggled to find foreign partners to help exploit its offshore energy reserves due to China's overlapping claims.

The two countries vowed to work together instead, helped by outgoing Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's pursuit of warmer ties with China.

But many experts doubted such an arrangement was possible due to political sensitivities and warned any deal to share energy resources could be seen as legitimising the other side's claim, or giving away sovereign territory.

A 2016 international arbitration ruling made clear the Philippines had sovereign rights to exploit energy reserves inside its 200-mile EEZ, but China, which claims about 90% of the South China Sea as its territory, has refused to recognise that decision.

The two countries set up a special panel to work out how they can jointly explore those areas, without needing to address the touchy issue of sovereignty.

But Locsin said that could not be achieved without violating the Philippine constitution, or China's government renouncing its claims. Duterte, he said, made the call to scrap the talks.

"The president had spoken ... oil and gas discussions are terminated completely. Nothing is pending; everything is over," Locsin said.

(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales and Karen Lema; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor)

Categories: Drilling Industry News Activity Production Asia

Related Stories

CNOOC Puts Into Production New Oil Field in South China Sea

CNOOC Puts Into Production New Oil Field in South China Sea

Pakistan’s OGDC to Start Production at ADNOC’s Offshore Block by 2027

Pakistan’s OGDC to Start Production at ADNOC’s Offshore Block by 2027

Petrovietnam, Petronas Extend PSC for Offshore Block

Petrovietnam, Petronas Extend PSC for Offshore Block

Hanwha Ocean Marks Entry into Deepwater Drilling Market with First Drillship

CNOOC Makes Major Oil and Gas Discovery in South China Sea

Shell Launches Next Phase of Malaysia's Deepwater Project with First Oil Production

Sapura Energy Nets $720M from Multiple Drilling Services Contracts

Six New Gas Wells in Line for BP’s Shah Deniz Field in Caspian Sea

CNOOC Starts Production at Offshore Oil Filed Equipped with CCUS Tech

China's CNOOC Aims for Record Oil and Gas Production in 2025

Current News

The Future of Long-Idle Drillships: Cold-Stacked or Dead-Stacked?

TMC Books Compressors Orders for FPSO and LNG Vessels

MODEC, Sumitomo Partner Up for Delivery of Gato do Mato FPSO

Chuditch Gas Field Up for Summer Drilling Ops as Sunda Reshapes Ownership Structure

EnQuest Bags Two Production Sharing Contracts off Indonesia

Hanwha Drilling’s Tidal Action Drillship En Route to Petrobras’ Roncador Field

China's ENN, Zhenhua Oil Ink LNG Supply Deals with ADNOC

MODEC Wins ExxonMobil Guyana’s Hammerhead FPSO Contract

India Stretches Bids Deadline for 13 Offshore Deep-Sea Mineral Blocks

Indonesia Awards Oil and Gas Blocks to Boost Reserves

photo

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com