PHILIPPINES SIGNS DEAL WITH ISRAELI OIL EXPLORATION FIRM

Posted by AsiaViews | Oct 26, 2018 | 0 |

Investvine-Oct 19

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on October 18 signed a seven-year oil exploration deal with an Israeli firm in a bid to develop the country’s own energy sources amid sharp swings in oil prices in the international market. The deal is said only to be an “initial” one with the company, Tel Aviv-based Ratio Petroleum Ltd.

Ratio Petroleum will now explore Area 4, which covers 416,000 hectares across the East Palawan Basin, for potential oil and gas resources. The project is expected to cost at least $34.35 million, including data gathering and drilling activities over the contract period.

“The President has been very clear — our country needs to attain energy security and sustainability at the soonest possible time. We are currently experiencing how our dependence on importation has left us at the mercy of price movements in the global oil markets,” Philippine energy minister Alfonso Cusi said. “We need to boost the exploration and development of our own energy resources, and the awarding of the petroleum service contract to Ratio Petroleum is a step in the right direction,” he added.

The Philippines, a net importer of oil, is currently feeling the heat of rising oil prices. Currently standing at between $69 and $79 per barrel, depending on the blend, some analysts see them to spike above $100 per barrel towards the end of 2018 or by early 2019, as US President Donald Trump’s sanctions against Iran, a major crude exporter, take effect in November.

To reduce expensive oil imports, the Duterte government is also working on a framework on possible joint oil exploration with China in the resource-rich West Philippine Sea, the portion of the hotly disputed South China Sea that the Philippines claims.

Ratio Petroleum is focusing on under-explored sea basins where significant oil discoveries had not yet been made. Currently, the company has projects in the Levant Basin in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel, as well as offshore operations off Malta, off Guyana-Surinam and off the coast of Ireland.

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EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD

Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.

“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”

PHILIPPINES SIGNS DEAL WITH ISRAELI OIL EXPLORATION FIRM

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