Nine local and foreign investors are seeking clearance from the Department of Energy (DOE) of the Philippines for their targeted nomination service areas in petroleum blocks under the Philippine Conventional Energy Contracting Program (PCECP), the DOE said on Monday.

To date, the DOE said 17 requests for the issuance of area clearance for various areas in the Sulu Sea, Quezon province, Albay province, and Mindoro province have been received by the DOE from these nine companies.

Three companies have successfully acquired area clearances and submitted their respective letters of intent (LOIs) to formalize their area nominations for approval by the DOE, it added.

Furthermore, the DOE said six companies have viewed and four companies have purchased technical data sets that include seismic lines and well listings.

"Interested parties must comply with the legal, financial and technical requirements, which include the proposed work program and economic development plan for the contract area," the DOE said.

At present, the DOE said there are 22 active petroleum service contracts in the Philippines.

The Philippines is home to the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project, the largest and most successful natural gas industrial project in Philippine history.

Following its successful kickoff in Singapore last month, the DOE said it is gearing up to continue its 2019 PCECP international roadshow at the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) Annual Convention and Exhibition (ACE) in San Antonio, Texas, in the United States on May 19-22.

This will be followed by roadshows in North America, South America, and the Middle East, the DOE said.

"As we support and strengthen the effort of the (Rodrigo) Duterte's administration to explore and discover indigenous petroleum resources, the DOE remains committed to establishing the 'Explore, Explore, Explore!' program that will elevate energy independence, security and sustainability through effective and reasonable development of all indigenous energy resources in the Philippines," Philippine Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said.