Reed Bank

Reed Bank and the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.

Reed Bank (11°20′N 116°50′E / 11.333°N 116.833°E / 11.333; 116.833Coordinates: 11°20′N 116°50′E / 11.333°N 116.833°E / 11.333; 116.833), also known as Reed Tablemount, Recto Bank and several other names, is a large tablemount in the South China Sea, with an area of 8,866 km²[1] and depths between 9 and 45 meters. It includes Nares Bank and Marie Louise Bank.

Whether it is considered to be part of the Spratly Islands archipelago, and part of Dangerous Ground, is not well defined.

Although it is within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone (Philippine EEZ), economic rights to the area are disputed - mainly by the PRC; see Spratly Islands dispute.

The bank is in the northeast quadrant of the Philippine's Kalayaan claimed territory, which also includes most of the north and east portions of the Spratly Islands. The area is located off the west coast of Palawan, north of Iroquis reef and the Southern reefs, and east of the northern part of the Spratly Islands. The nearest occupied parts of the Spratly Islands are Philippine-occupied Flat Island, Nanshan Island and Second Thomas Shoal, and the PRC-occupied Mischief Reef.[2]

Subsequent to the PRC reclamation of Mischief Reef, a Philippine World-War-II-vintage naval landing craft, (LST 57 - Sierra Madre), was deliberately run aground on the Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 to maintain a Philippine naval outpost in the area; it is manned by about a dozen Philippine marines.

Oil, gas and SC72

Seismic surveys indicate that the Reed Bank is rich in oil and gas deposits, but they have only been partly tapped due to disputed claims from various countries.[3]

Exploration in the area began in 1970, and in 1976 gas was discovered in the Sampaguita structure following the drilling of a well. In total, three wells have been drilled to date, all located at the south west end of the Sampaguita structure. The initial 2-year concession to extract the resources, (SC72, formerly GSEC101,) was awarded to Sterling Energy PLC in June 2002. In April 2005, Forum Energy PLC (FEP) acquired the concession from Sterling and became its operator.[4] Forum Energy PLC (FEP) is a London-based listed oil and gas exploration firm focused on the Philippines; it is 64.45% owned by Philex Petroleum Corporation.[5]

In February 2010, the licence was converted to a Service Contract, and FEP performed geological and geophysical works and seismic surveys. In July 2011 the Philippines' Department of Energy (DOE) approved the commencement of a 2-year phase of the project leading to the drilling of 2 wells, and preparations commenced. However, having already granted exploration rights to the area to PRC State-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), the PRC objected to this arrangement; the requisite approvals from the DOE to commence drilling were not received, and hence the project was placed on hold.[4][5]

In May 2012, the then Philex chairman and CEO, "MVP" (Manuel V. Pangilinan), made an offer to CNOOC, which CNOOC turned down. There have been further meetings between Philex and CNOOC, but the project remains on hold.[4][5]

Impact of the Ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration

On July 12, 2016 the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that there was no legal or historical basis for China's claims to most of the South China Sea. It also found that China violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights by constructing artificial islands within the desputed area. On the basis of the decision, the development and exploitation of the Reed Bank's oil and gas deposits is now within the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone.[6]

References

  1. ↑ List of Atolls showing location, area, depth, and rainfall (PDF), geosociety.org, 2001
  2. ↑ Pasaylo, June (23 May 2011). "Palace: Reed Bank not subject to negotiation". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  3. ↑ Laude, Jaime (20 March 2014). "China raring to seize oil-rich Reed Bank – Golez". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 "Reed bank". Forum Energy PLC (FEP). Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 Martelino-Reyes, Theresa (10 March 2014). "Chinese firm rejects MVP offer for share in PH project in Reed Bank". Vera Files. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  6. ↑ {{cite newsurl=http://mindanation.com/2012/all-about-the-greed-bank-from-ferdinand-marcos-sr-to-albert-del-rosario/}}
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