Wednesday, February 06, 2008 Oil drilling in Tañon Strait ends
AS they wait for results of the oil exploration at Tañon Strait, the mayors of the towns of Pinamungajan and Aloguinsan are hopeful there’s enough oil there.
Both municipalities are affected by the exploratory drill at the Tañon Strait by the Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd. (Japex).
Most affected are the towns’ fisherfolk, who were given assistance by Japex and the two municipalities.
While the fisherfolk are relieved that the exploration was over done, Mayors Geraldine Yapha of Pinamungajan and Cynthia Moreno of Aloguinsan hope the results will benefit their towns.
Hope for best
“We’ll just wait for the official announcement from the Department of Energy whether it’s positive or not. I just hope for the best,” Moreno said in a TV Patrol interview.
Yapha said she would just see the final result first before deciding how the town can move on after at least three months of oil exploration.
Both mayors believe that if there is oil in the Tañon Strait their municipalities will benefit from it.
If the exploration becomes successful, Yapha earlier said, it will boost the economy not just of Pinamungajan but the whole country as well.
Livelihood
For their part, the fishermen hope their livelihood will be back to normal now.
But while there are fishermen who said fish became scarce during the oil drilling operations, a fisherman named Pilo told ABS-CBN that big fish were attracted by the lights of the oil rig.
The presence of the big fish has driven away the small fishes like “bolinao” to the seashore, making it easy for fishermen to catch them.
But there are other fishermen who now doubt if their fishing areas are still abundant of marine life.
A report from ABS-CBN said the drilled area will be temporarily closed, and in 10 days it will be known if there are oil and gas deposits in Tañon Strait.
ABS-CBN also reported that Japex made it sure their waste from oil drilling was disposed of properly.
The dumping site, which is within the construction facility of Aloguinsan Vice mayor Cesar Moreno, was concreted with about 7,000 bags of cement.
Moreno said that about 1,800 cubic meters of oil rig waste were dumped in the area during the entire drilling operation. (JGA/EOB)
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