The Philippines unit of ExxonMobil said Thursday that it will quit as operator of an offshore prospect in the Sulu Sea in the south of the country, after the four wells it drilled over the past two years failed to show sufficient natural gas reserves.
ExxonMobil Exploration & Production Philippines B.V. started drilling on the 8,200-square-kilometer area covered by Service Contract 56 in October 2009. It owns 50% of SC56 while Mitra Energy Ltd. and BHP Billiton International Exploration Pty. Ltd. each hold 25%.
ExxonMobil Exploration said that while it “encountered gas in three of the four wells drilled, non-commercial quantities of gas were found.”
Given the size of the reserve, the company said it decided to “withdraw from SC 56 and resign as operator.”
It said its interest in the project will be assigned to its partners.
