PLN approves $60 million Sarulla geothermal deal
Thursday, October 16 2003 - 03:11 AM WIB
The shareholders meeting was held on October 8, 2003.
PLN will sign a US$60 million deal soon with Unocal Corp for the take over of Sarulla plant, the company?s finance director Parno Isworo said on Wednesday.
The conclusion of the deal, originally scheduled for September, was delayed pending approval from PLN shareholders.
After the official transfer of Sarulla?s ownership title, PLN will pay $60 million Unocal in mid-November, Parno said.
He admitted that it is not clear what PLN intends to deal with Sarulla, the first geothermal project in North Sumatra.
There are three options: PLN could resell Sarulla to a third party, offer its stake in the geothermal field to a firm which had already involved in oil, gas or steam exploration and production, and operate the power plant. Or form a joint-venture company to advance the project.
The current steam production capacity at Sarulla, where Unocal had drilled wells, can support the construction of a 65-megawatt power generating unit, Parno said.
Unocal is exiting from the Sarulla because the price offered by PLN for power to be generated from the planned power plant is ?too low? to develop the project further, Unocal?s vice president and general manager of Unocal?s Indonesia geothermal unit Brad Govreau said on Wednesday. (*)