Philippines: Petroenergy Resources plans 20 MW plant at Mt. Makiling

Alexander Richter 2 Feb 2010

Reported from the Philippines, “Publicly listed Petroenergy Resources Corp. plans to put up an integrated steamfield and power plant on Mount Makiling, capable of generating an initial 20 megawatts (MW) by 2013.

Petroenergy announced its plans after the Department of Energy awarded on Monday a geothermal service contract for the Maibarara geothermal field on Mt. Makiling. The geothermal field may have the capacity to generate as much as 40 MW.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Petroenergy said it would allocate $18 million for the first two years of the service contract.

The amount will be used to rehabilitate existing wells, drill new wells and update the resource capacity of the field.

The contract, which would cover areas in Laguna and Batangas, was among those that were auctioned off by the DOE last October 2009, under the Philippine Energy Contracting Round (PECR).

A PECR is a public bidding aimed at encouraging companies to invest in the country’s energy sector. These contracting rounds showcase the country’s potential areas for exploration and development.

“With the acquisition of the Maibarara geothermal service contract, Petroenergy’s expansion into renewable energy continues following the award last year of two wind energy service contracts in Sual, Pangasinan and Nabas, Aklan,” the company said.

“These renewable energy projects are envisioned to provide long-term revenue and growth for the company while its core petroleum project [off] Gabon, as well as oil projects in the Philippines, will sustain the company in the near-and medium-term.”

The company earlier said it would invest $100 million in two 30-megawatt wind farms in Pangasinan and Aklan.

The service contracts for the wind power projects were awarded to Petroenergy in September last year. The Aklan contract covered 2,025 hectares, while the Pangasinan contract spanned 1,701 hectares.”

Source: Business Inquirer