Published
By Myrna M. Velasco
Lopez-majority owned
Energy Development Corporation (EDC) is targeting to expand geothermal
investments in Taiwan, a top executive of the conglomerate has disclosed to the
media.
“In Taiwan, we have concession, and we’re
working with the proponents to see what we can do. We hope to do one thing in
Taiwan… we’re talking to a number of local players,” EDC Board Director Francis
Giles B. Puno said.
The Lopez company
executive explained that they somehow have leverage in Taiwan “because we work
with the utilities there and many of them are substantially untapped potential
because they need the expertise as well. In that sense, EDC can provide that.”
At this stage, he noted
that what EDC has is basically a “concession” for a geothermal service area for
exploration, hence, the target is to ensure first that the prospects would
eventually yield commercially-viable outcome.
Yet even prior to this
targeted investment entry in Taiwan, Puno qualified that EDC is considerably a
globally entrenched player in the geothermal sector – primarily in the
provision of exploration and drilling services in key markets like Kenya and
Japan.
“We’re doing drilling
operations in Japan, we’re doing drilling operations even in Africa in Kenya –
in services, we’re in a way gaining the experience,” Puno stressed.
He further qualified
“we’re always in the international arena – we’ve not focused on areas where we
feel we don’t have competitive advantage. Our competitive advantage is in geothermal,
so that’s where we choose to play in the international arena.”
Other than these
offshore ventures, he indicated that Indonesia remains an interesting market in
the company’s radar especially when the election ruckus in that country will
already settle.
“We have a concession
in Indonesia, we also try to look for a local partner. Indonesia is interesting
for us,” the Lopez firm executive stressed.
Beyond these core
markets, EDC also looked at geothermal concessions in Latin American countries
– primarily in Chile and Peru; but developments have yet to advance in these
targeted markets.
EDC is currently the
biggest geothermal industry player in the Philippines; enabling the country
then to have the third largest geothermal energy portfolio in the world.
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