Manila opens the door to Chinese E&P

An executive order has reduced the constraints on Philippines’ state oil company working with third parties on oil and gas deals

An executive order from Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte that relaxed the rules on oil and gas exploration should make it easier for the government to cement its recent outreach to China, as it opens exploration blocks in a bid to reverse a precipitous decline in production. Executive Order 80, issued in late May, reverses a previous ruling from 2006 that prevented the Philippine National Oil Company Exploration Corporation (PNOC-EC) from directly farming out its acreage. From now on, third parties can participate in service contracts awarded by the government to PNOC-EC, the upstream arm of state-owned Philippine National Oil Company, without the need for public bidding.PNOC-EC has bee