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New wells to be drilled at Tiwi-MakBan geothermal plant in the Philippines

New wells to be drilled at Tiwi-MakBan geothermal plant in the Philippines Makban geothermal power plant, Philippines (source: ThinkGeoEnergy, creative commons)
Alexander Richter 24 Aug 2018

AP Renewables and Philippine Geothermal are planning to drill additional 12 production wells over the next 6 years, to ensure the long-term viability of power production of the geothermal power plants of the Tiwi-MakBan geothermal complex in the Philippines.

As reported this morning from the Philippines, a contract on the supply and services for steam and drilling new production wells at the Tiwi-MakBan Geothermal Complex has been signed by AP Renewables Inc. and Philippine Geothermal Production Company Inc.

The plan to drill additional production wells is aimed to ensure the sustainable long-term operation of the facilities, as announced by AP Renewables.

AP Renewables, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AboitizPower, operating the 458-MW MakBan Geothermal Power Plants at the provinces of Batangas and Laguna, as well as the 289-MW Tiwi Geothermal Power Plants in Albay. The steam is actually provided by Philippine Geothermal, formerly Chevron Geothermal, which operates the geothermal steamfield.

Under the agreement, Philippine Geothermal will drill 12 new production wells over a six-year period to increase steam availability for the power plant facilities by about 20 percent.

First commissioned in 1979, the Tiwi-MakBan Geothermal Complex is one of the biggest geothermal facilities in the country and the region. Philippine Geothermal has since operated the steamfield facilities.

AboitizPower took over the operations and management of the power plant facilities from the National Power Corporation in 2009.

Source: Company release to the Philippine Stock Exchange