The Philippine government declared the suspension of all exploration work 'until further notice' at the Reed Bank in the South China Sea, as it tracked international arbitration over ongoing territorial disputes, says Forum Energy Plc.

"Under the terms of the force majeure, all exploration work at SC72 is immediately suspended until the [Department of Energy] notifies the company that it may commence drilling," said the firm in a statement to the DOE.

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The SC72, short for Service Contract 72, is the exploration permit covering the Sampaguita natural gas prospect in Reed Bank (or Recto Bank as the Philippines calls it), which Forum Energy has 70 percent stake in.

The offshore oil and gas field is near the west of the Philippine island Palawan and is believed to have a significant amount of reserves, estimated at as much as 20 trillion cubic feet.

Forum Eenery Plc. is a London-listed company that is 60.49 percent owned by Manila-listed enterprise Philex Petroleum Corp.

China maintains that it owns almost the entire South China Sea while the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia, as well as Taiwan and Brunei are claiming parts of the body of water.

The Pearl of the Orient, the Philippines, asserts that arbitration is the best and only route to resolve the territorial conflict while China posits that the United Nations has no say in the matter.

However, the Department of Foreign Affairs noted that a Unite Nations tribunal may decide on the case by early next year.

Forum Energy managed to get the approval in 2014 from the DOE to prolong its drilling plans at Reed Bank for an additional year, or until mid-2016.

The dispute has retarded the firm's plans to drill at the location two appraisal wells, which gauge the size of gas or oil findings.

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