Manila Times.net
TWO steam production wells at PetroEnergy Resources Corp.’s Maibarara geothermal project in Laguna and Batangas have reached commercial output.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, PetroEnergy said the two geothermal wells in the Maibarara project have been found capable of supplying steam to a power plant in a flow-test program conducted in April.
“The wells have an aggregate capacity of about 15 megawatts,” it said.
The two wells are part of a three-well work-over rehabilitation conducted by the company early this year. The third well is being used for reinjection of discharged brine.
The Maibarara project is being undertaken by Maibarara Geothermal Inc. (MGI), a majority-owned subsidiary of PetroEnergy, through its wholly owned renewable energy unit PetroGreen Energy Corp.
The company’s partners in the project are Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp. and state-owned Philippine National Oil Co.-Renewables Corp.
The consortium targets to put up an integrated steamfield and power plant with a 20-megawatt capacity in the geothermal prospect by 2013.
For the first two years, MGI has allocated $18 million for the Maibarara’s development program, which includes the rehabilitation of existing wells and the drilling of new ones to determine its potential output.
Despite the success of their recent drilling activities, Cesar Buenaventura, MGI chairman, said the company still has to drill two additional wells to augment supply and reinjection capacity of the 20-megawatt geothermal project.
“There are still a lot of things to hurdle to ensure we can go into actual commercial development,” he said.
MGI also plans to tap an independent foreign firm to review its reserve projections for the Maibarara project.
The company is going through other related studies and negotiations pertaining to grid interconnection, electricity sales, project financing, and power plant construction and operations.
“If these studies turn out positive, MGI will file for a declaration of commerciality for Maibarara with the Department of Energy and secure financing for P2 billion sometime in the third quarter of 2011 to start field development,” the company said.
PetroEnergy shares were unchanged at P6.50 on Thursday.EUAN PAULO C. AÑONUEVO
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