January 28, 2016 By Lenie Lectura
Basic Energy Corp. (BEC) has decided
to abandon four hydropower service contracts awarded to the power firm last
year, which are in Negros Occidental, to focus on its geothermal projects.
“The board decided to return to the
Department of Energy its four hydropower service contracts covering Puntian 1,
Puntian 2, Malogo 2 and Talabaan,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.
Though these four hydropower
projects showed “promise” based on initial studies, the company opted to
concentrate on its geothermal projects, which “provide greater potential.”
“The move is in support of efforts
to streamline its renewable projects and concentrate resources on its
geothermal service contracts and other projects in the pipeline,” Basic Energy
said.
The geothermal projects of the
company include the Iriga Geothermal Power Project; Mariveles Geothermal Power
Project and the East Mankayan Geothermal Power Project. It is also working on
another geothermal project in West Bulusan, Sorsogon.
The company also said it is keen on
investing in projects with faster turnaround time, among them prospects in
solar energy.
Meanwhile, Basic Energy announced
that the board has approved the budget for the drilling of the first well in
its Mabini Geothermal project. However, the board decided not to divulge the
amount, pending approval from consortium members.
In its meeting on January 27, “the
BEC Board of Directors thumbed up management’s proposed budget to bring the project
to drilling in May this year. The approved budget includes land rights, civil
works, and drilling and well testing costs,” it reported.
Located in the Calumpan Peninsula,
the Mabini Geothermal Sevice Contract No. 8 covers 3,841 hectares. Based on the
Pre-Feasibility Study, the area is projected to yield a power capacity of
between 20 megawatts and 60 MW.
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