Red Tape Barrier to Philippine Oil
Oil producers say byzantine regulations pose a bigger barrier than the Chinese navy when it comes to exploiting oil in disputed waters off the Philippines
When the Philippine department of energy told reporters this week it had received four proposals to explore oil and gas blocks off Palawan, the country's westernmost island facing disputed waters in the South China Sea, many of the journalists' questions focused on how Manila's tiny navy could protect research vessels and drilling ships against possible harassment by Chinese vessels.
To be sure, the danger of being confronted by a Chinese warship in the open sea is perhaps one of the greatest operating risks an energy company is likely to face. But for many engaged in exploration and production, it is not necessarily the most pressing worry in the Philippines, nor even the most bothersome.
The day-to-day challenges energy executives find most infuriating involve chasing signatures from up to 200 national and local government officials before they can begin even to carry out seismic studies and eventually drill wells.
Hide Comments (0)
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post commentsMute this user?
Ban this user?
Un-ban this user?
Nuke this user?
Un-nuke this user?
Flag this comment?
Un-flag this comment?