Speculative oil and gas exploration companies seized the market spotlight on Wednesday, fueled by the reported lifting of energy exploration activities in contested waters in the West Philippine Sea.
Traders piled into stocks of tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan-led PXP Energy Corp., the lead investor in the Service Contract (SC) 72 consortium, driving up shares by the ceiling limit of 50 percent to P4.50 apiece, its highest close in almost a year.
Atok-Big Wedge Co., which has exposure in the project via PXP, jumped over 36 percent, while Ayala’s ENEX Energy, which owns SC 55, surged over 46 percent.
VERA Files reported on Tuesday that President Marcos lifted the moratorium on oil and natural gas exploration in Recto Bank, which is located offshore Palawan and is considered within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone but also claimed by China.
Sources contacted by InsiderPH could not immediately verify the news.
On Tuesday, PXP said it was unaware of “the existence of, nor does it possess, any undisclosed information that may have influenced the price of the company’s shares.”
These gains came as the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index rose 0.31 percent to 6,687.71 by Tuesday’s finish.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.