Philippines: Kalinga-Apayao project in investor talks

Guidance Management Corp. and APC Group Inc. hope to conclude talks with a foreign investor over a farm-in agreement in their geothermal exploration project in Kalinga-Apayao province next month.

Guidance Management chairman Joaquin Rodriquez said the two energy companies planned to complete the transaction in “about six weeks,” but declined to name the prospective investor, citing confidentiality.

The geothermal service contract is owned by Guidance Management and Aragorn Power and Energy Corp., a subsidiary of listed APC Group.

Belle Corp. is APC Group’s single-biggest shareholder at 47 percent of the outstanding shares. The SM Group is a major shareholder of Belle.

The 26,250-hectare area in Kalinga-Apayao has the potential to produce 60 megawatts of geothermal power. Aragorn Power and Guidance Management have earmarked P3.7 million to explore the area in the first five years.

“We’re concentrating on the Kalinga project,” Rodriguez said, when asked on the status of the company’s geothermal projects.

Guidance Management, which started operations in 2005, is a consortium of 14 Filipino, Spanish, Australian and American investors.