The Company will conduct tests in the southern city of Alegria in Cebu to determine if the quantity of oil in the area is commercially viable for production. If enough oil is found, this would be a major economic boost, said Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia.

The governor has informed DOE Assistant Secretary Ramon Allan Oca last year of the discovery and asked him to look for investors. She said the department surveyed the area, but they lacked sophisticated and sensitive equipment that time. Now they are back “fully equipped” and paid a courtesy call on the governor in July 2011.

In their visit, Oca, DOE officials, CIMP country manager Scott North, CIMP project manager Tony Wang, and Polyard Petroleum International Group Ltd. executive consultant Patricia Daza formally informed the governor that the survey will start. The governor was told the survey will determine if the underground supply can be sold in commercial quantities.

Sites where oil has been discovered include the mountain barangay of Monteller, which is five kilometers from the city proper, and the coastal barangay of Madridejos, which is seven kilometers south of the city proper. Monteller is near typhoid-stricken Barangay Valencia.

According to Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Jose Rene Almendras in his letter to Garcia, the oil exploration program of China International Mining Petroleum Company Ltd. (CIMP) will conduct three activities: remote sensing study, on-shore seismic data acquisition, and drilling.

Garcia said that years ago, former Alegria mayor Raul Guisadio showed her an area in the mountain where black liquid bubbled out from the soil and locals used the soaked dirt to build fire for cooking and light. 

Updated：2011-09-23