INPEX acquires Medco?s interest in Sarulla
Wednesday, June 10 2015 - 10:28 AM WIB
Japanese firm INPEX Corporation announced on Tuesday that it has agreed with a consortium of Japanese, Indonesian and US companies to indirectly participate, by acquiring 49% of an affiliate of PT Medco Power Indonesia (Medco), in the Sarulla Geothermal Independent Power Producer (IPP) Project in North Sumatra.
The world?s largest single-contract geothermal power project is expected to contribute to meeting local power demand and developing the Indonesian economy, the firm said.
The consortium is comprised of ITOCHU Corporation and Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc. of Japan, Medco and Ormat Technologies of the US.
The project involves constructing a geothermal power plant with a maximum capacity of 330MW in the Sarulla Geothermal Field located in North Sumatra Province, and providing generated power to Perusahaan Listrik Negara, Indonesia?s government-owned electricity company over a period of 30 years. The power plant currently under construction is expected to initiate commercial operations in 2016, and reach an output of 330MW, equivalent to the annual consumption of 700,000 households in Japan, by 2018.
Operations in the geothermal field, owned by concession holder PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy, is under development by the consortium through the subsidiaries of each participating company. These subsidiaries have jointly established Sarulla Operations Ltd, the operating company for the project. INPEX Geothermal Sarulla, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of INPEX, has acquired 49% in a Medco affiliate which controls 37.25% of the project.
The project is aligned to the second 10,000 MW fast track power development program rolled out by the Indonesian government in 2010 to secure electricity supply for the country.
As addressed in its Medium-to Long Term Vision, INPEX will continue to explore business opportunities in renewable energies such as geothermal energy and photovoltaic power generation to become an integrated energy company. The company?s decision to participate in this project is a part of such efforts. It is the first time for INPEX to engage in a geothermal IPP project in Indonesia.
Editing by Johannes Simbolon