MANILA — Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Friday urged the government to aggressively pursue a “Drill, Drill, Drill” program to explore and develop the country’s untapped oil and natural gas resources.
Gatchalian, chair of the Senate Committee on Energy, made the call following a ruling of the International Chamber of Commerce in Singapore on the arbitration case filed by Shell Philippines Exploration BV against the government on the Malampaya gas project’s corporate income tax issue.
“With the case now behind us, it is high time for the government to aggressively pursue a ‘Drill, Drill, Drill’ program, so that we can tap these oil and gas resources and use them to achieve Philippine energy independence and pave the way for the country to become an energy exporting powerhouse,” he said.
Gatchalian said there is no longer a legal impediment for investors to undertake oil and natural gas explorations after the USD1.1 billion tax case was resolved.
“The multi-billion tax case has been a big specter that discouraged foreign players from conducting petroleum explorations in the Philippines over the past several years and drove away investments in high risk, capital-intensive, and technology-intensive sectors,” he added.
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