Philippine's PNOC eying geothermal energy potentials in Indonesia

Philippines National Oil Company (PNOC), along with is business partners, is studying the possibility of building a geothermal power plant in Indonesia to take advantage of the country’s geothermal energy potential.

 

Director for geothermal and well water business development division of the directorate general of mineral, coal and geothermal at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Sugiharto Harsoprayitno said in Jakarta last week that PNOC had conducted a study on geothermal potentials in several locations in Indonesia but a tax issue seemed to remain a major obstacle which prevented the from investing soon.

 

“They feel that a tax issue is too burdensome to them,” he said.

 

Meanwhile, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said earlier that the government would issue a law on energy that would govern the provision of incentives for investors eager to develop a geothermal potential which was categorized into a renewable energy.

 

In 2003, PNOC has tied up with Indonesian state owned oil and gas commpany Pertamina and Marubeni Corp. of Japan for a $1-billion geothermal drilling project in Indonesia.

 

Specifically, the contract will allow the three firms to drill and develop geothermal wells in Lumut Balai (330 megawatts); Ulubelu (110 MW) and Tompaso (60 MW) in Indonesia. Each well will need an average of $2 million budget.

 

Ulubelu and Lumut Balai are located in South Sumatra, while the third geothermal prospect, Tompaso, is in North Sulawesi. (godang)