By: Euan Paulo C. Añonuevo, InterAksyon.com September 13, 2012 1:00 PM
InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
MANILA - Basic Energy Corp.'s bid to develop three geothermal prospects got a boost from the Department of Energy, which cleared the projects.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Basic Energy said the company's proposal to develop geothermal prospects in East Mankayan, Benguet; Mariveles, Bataan; and Iriga, Camarines Sur have passed the legal, technical and financial requirements of the DOE.
"These projects are in line with the 2012 business thrust of [Basic Energy] to look into new projects in renewable energy development and production," it said.
Formerly Basic Consolidated Inc., Basic Energy is also engaged in oil and gas exploration, mining and information technology, among others.
The three geothermal projects are considered "frontier" areas, which do not have sufficient data or studies on their renewable energy potential.
As such the DOE doesn’t auction off these projects in energy contracting rounds.
"With the company's compliance with the processing and evaluation requirements of the DOE, the Geothermal Renewable Service Contracts for the abovementioned geothermal areas shall be executed upon final approval of the DOE," Basic Energy said.
The East Mankayan geothermal area lies immediately east of the Cervantes, llocos Sur geothermal block of Pan Pacific Power Phils, Inc., south of the Bontoc-Sadanga block, which is operated by Magma Energy Resources, and immediately south of the Daklan block operated by Clean Rock Energy. The area covers the three provinces of Benguet, Mountain Province and Ifugao.
The Mariveles, Bataan geothermal area is situated along the West Luzon Volcanic Arc, which starts from Mt. Pinatubo in the north and extends farther south across the Manila Bay towards Batangas and northeastern Mindoro.
Lastly, the Iriga, Camarines Sur geothermal area is bounded on the north by the lsarog geothermal block of Philippine National Oil Co.-Renewables Corp. and to the east by the Tiwi geothermal service contract area of Aboitiz Power Corp. The area’s landscape is dominated by lriga or Asog Volcano, southwest of Lake Buhi in southern Luzon.
