The Philippine government awarded Israel's Ratio Petroleum a contract to search for oil and gas in an area just off Palawan province on Wednesday, October 17.
The agreement, termed as a petroleum service contract, allows Ratio to conduct oil and gas exploration in an area spanning 416,000 hectares at water depths ranging from 900 to 1,700 metres in the East Palawan Basin in the Western Philippines.
The contract calls for a seven-year work programme.