Chile:

EDC bags steam contract in Chile (BusinessWorld Online)

THE Energy Development Corp. (EDC) of the Philippines yesterday said it had bagged a contract to develop geothermal fields in Chile.

EDC was awarded the Newen geothermal contract near Santiago, Chile, EDC Chief Operating Officer Richard B. Tantoco said in a press briefing.

“We were finally awarded a service contract in Chile called Newen which we applied for in 2009,” Mr. Tantoco said, explaining that the firm will now develop the steam field potential and will eventually build a power plant.

EDC had set up a subsidiary in Chile called EDC Chile Limitada to bid for geothermal concessions in the country. The company is currently undertaking geological surveys in the area.

“Development of the field takes a year or more because drilling of the well takes 70 to 80 days. The concession will be undertaken by our company alone and we are not looking for any partners for the concession at the moment,” said Mr. Tantoco.

Mr. Tantoco said the company is also finalizing its partnership with Australian firm Hot Rocks Ltd. to bid for more geothermal concession areas in Chile and Peru. EDC will take a majority stake in the joint venture firm.

EDC posted a loss of P487.7 million in the nine-month period ending September 2011 from an income of P7.6 billion in the same period the year previous as it decomissioned a geothermal plant in Negros Oriental.

Aside from this, EDC operates the 130-megawatt (MW) Bacon-Manito geothermal power plant in the Visayas, the 305-MW Tongonan I geothermal power plant, the 192-MW Palinpinon geothermal plant in Leyte and the 132-MW Pantabangan-Masiway hydroelectric power plant in Nueva Ecija.