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Batangas geothermal project nears construction start in Philippines

Batangas geothermal project nears construction start in Philippines Taal Volcano, Batangas/ Philippines (source: flickr/no focus, creative commons)
Alexander Richter 30 May 2010

Philippine company Basic Energy will soon start construction in Mabini, Batangas, providing about 20 MW of geothermal power to Luzon.

Reported from the Philippines, “another power plant will soon begin construction in Mabini, Batangas, and eventually provide an additional 20 megawatts (MW) of electricity to the Luzon grid.

This is what listed Basic Energy Corp. implied in its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange announcing that it has recently completed initial assessment of the geothermal resource in its geothermal service contract in Mabini, Batangas.

“Our initial assessments indicate that the area has a good potential for a 20-MW power generation that could be developed in a two- to three-year period, considering the existence of adequate infrastructure, adjacency to transmission lines and a strong power demand in the area,” Basic Energy said.

Basic Energy, the operator and sole owner of the Mabini geothermal service contract (GSC), recently completed the controlled source magneto-telluric (CSMT) survey consisting of geophysical and geological surveys covering 3,481 hectares in the Calumpan Peninsula in Mabini, Batangas.

The company said the CSMT survey involved the recording of data that will be processed and interpreted in order to establish the steam resources in the area and the possible exploration drilling sites.

Basic?Energy added that it is presently evaluating a 2D processing and assessment that will be submitted to the Department of Energy (DOE) for approval as an exploration activity for Sub-phase 2 in Year 3 of the Work Program with the DOE.

The GSC was awarded to Basic by the DOE on July 10, 2008, while the CSMT in the first stage of its exploration program committed under Subphase 1 of Years 1 and 2 of the Work Program with the DOE.

The 2D processing will further support and validate the CSMT results and thus provide more confidence in establishing the possible drilling sites identified in the CSMT and the depth of the steam resource.

Basic?Energy earlier said the $3.5-million Mabini contract area in Batangas has a 20-MW to 40-MW target capacity.

Basic Energy said then it will conduct geological, geochemical and geophysical works that is expected to result in the identification of drilling locations for test wells and bringing steam out for power production.

Basic Energy is the former Basic Petroleum Corp., which has a long experience and know-how in energy exploration and development, and has participated in almost all the oil discoveries in the country that have been put under production since 1978.

The Philippines is the second-largest producer of geothermal power in the world, next to the United States. Among the country’s indigenous energy resources, geothermal is the largest source of electricity with an estimated total untapped potential of about 2,600 MW.”

Source: Business Mirror