PXP Energy Corp., the upstream oil and gas firm led by businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan, widened its core net loss to P9.2 million in the first quarter from P2.6 million a year earlier, dragged by lower oil output and prices alongside higher operating expenses.

In a stock exchange filing on Thursday, the company said consolidated net loss attributable to equity holders of the parent rose to P9.4 million from P2.6 million in the same period last year.

Revenues dropped 22.4 percent to P20.4 million from P26.3 million, weighed down by a 20 percent decline in oil sales volume to 157,381 barrels and a 5 percent dip in average crude price to $76.3 per barrel from Galoc operations under Service Contract 14C-1.

Total costs and expenses rose to P29.7 million from P27.1 million, driven by higher petroleum production costs of P17.3 million and a jump in overhead expenses to P12.4 million due to nonrecurring costs incurred by a foreign subsidiary.

In March, PXP issued 430.24 million common shares to Tidemark Holdings Ltd. at P3.62 per share in exchange for 24.13 million shares in Forum Energy Ltd. (FEL), following SEC approval of FEL’s share valuation at P1.56 billion.

The share swap increased PXP’s effective stake in FEL to 97.88 percent and in Service Contract 72 to 68.5 percent, while Tidemark now holds an 18 percent stake in PXP.

PXP said it is evaluating the Dalingding prospect under Service Contract (SC) 40 in northern Cebu and remains open to new oil and gas opportunities nationwide. It also expects the awarding of predetermined areas PDA-BP-2 and PDA-BP-3 in the southwestern Sulu Sea.

Despite the extended force majeure over SC 72 and SC 75, PXP and FEL “continue to demonstrate a strong commitment to resuming exploration activities in both blocks.”