A Philippine tycoon said partnering with China may be an option in the development of a new gas field in an area of the South China Sea where the two nations have competing maritime claims.
鈥淢y personal view is we should engage China,鈥 PXP Energy Corp. Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan told reporters on Wednesday. 鈥淟ook at what Mark Carney did for Canada.鈥
Shares of PXP Energy jumped more than 13% on Thursday, the most in a month, with traded volume at over 400% of the daily average in the past three months.
Manila-listed PXP鈥檚 exploration work in the Reed Bank in the South China Sea has been on hold for years amid persistent tensions between Manila and Beijing over the resource-rich waterway that have led to clashes between their ships.
Mr. Pangilinan said PXP needs the expertise and capital if it were to proceed with the development of the Reed Bank. The company had estimated in 2014 that it would cost $6 billion to develop it, which PXP can鈥檛 afford, he said.
鈥淲hether it鈥檚 China or somebody else, you have to partner with somebody who鈥檚 got the experience,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a very complicated business.鈥
Mr. Pangilinan said he last met with representatives of state-owned China National Offshore Oil Co. in 2019, when the administration of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte pushed for joint oil and gas development in the South China Sea amid a broader effort to forge closer economic ties.
The Southeast Asian nation is working to secure its energy supply with the near depletion of its main Malampaya gas field. While the discovery last month of a new gas source in that area would help extend the dwindling field, the country would still need more energy sources to meet its growing power demand.
Mr. Pangilinan said his position on the matter has been relayed to the Philippine government, which he said has the final say. 鈥淚t鈥檚 up to them, because this is all caught up in geopolitics. And that鈥檚 beyond our pay grade,鈥 he added. — Bloomberg
