THE Galoc oil field in Palawan resumed producing 15,000 barrels a day yesterday, around two months after it shut down when strong waves damaged the moorings on its platform, an official said.

The flow rate would be reduced once it stabilized, Energy Undersecretary Ramon Oca said, adding Galoc?s resumption would lessen the Philippines? dependence on imported oil.

Officials stopped production in December to fix the platform.

?Hopefully, this latest development will encourage other companies to continue and move forward with their exploration programs,? Oca said.

He made the statement even as oil prices rose in Asian trade yesterday, pushed up by a surprise drop in US gasoline reserves, dealers said.

New York?s main contract, light sweet crude for April delivery, gained 23 cents to $42.73 a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for April delivery was up 21 cents to $44.50.

The unexpected drop in US gasoline supplies was the main factor behind the jump in oil prices, but this was likely to be short-lived, said Victor Shum, a Singapore-based analyst with energy consultancy Purin and Gertz.

?It would be premature to say that oil now has turned the corner because the weak economy remains a threat to the oil market, but the downward momentum in oil pricing hasn?t been broken,? Shum said.

Contractor Galoc Production Co. said it would sell the oil field?s production once it reached 300,000 barrels.

The company has sold nearly 800,000 barrels since it started production last October. It sold 300,000 barrels to Petron and the rest to Thailand, South Korea and Japan.

The Galoc field is 65 kilometers northwest of Palawan and 290 meters below the sea. It is estimated to hold 10 million barrels of oil.

Galoc Production Co. holds the service contract to operate the field, and it has 14 partners including Nido Petroleum, Oriental Petroleum and Minerals Corp., The Philodrill Corp., Forum Energy Philippines Corp., Alcorn Gold Resources Corp. and PetroEnergy Resources Corp. Alena Mae Flores with AP