Business World Online
BILIRAN Geothermal, Inc. (BGI) is set to proceed with the drilling of an exploratory well at a geothermal field on Biliran Island to assess if the area can support commercial operations, an Energy department official said yesterday.
“The company’s drilling activity will push through this month. They [sic] are just waiting for the drilling rig and they will proceed once it arrives,” Mario C. Marasigan, the department’s director for Renewable Energy Management Bureau, said in a phone interview when asked on updates on the geothermal project.
Mr. Marasigan said BGI will drill the first exploratory well to validate resource availability.
“If they confirm the resource based on the prognosis, then they will start the development phase of the geothermal field.”
Mr. Marasigan said that drilling of an exploratory well usually takes “around 30 days” and assessment will take about three months.
He said that, after six months, BGI can decide if it will develop the area’s resource.
Energy department data showed that the Biliran geothermal concession — which was awarded to BGI in July 2008 — covers a 260-square-kilometer area straddling barangays Cabibihan and Villa Vicenta in the municipality of Caibiran.
It was estimated to have a potential geothermal resource that can support a 50-megawatt power plant.
BGI is a joint venture of Filtech Energy Drilling Corp. (FEDCO) and Iceland-based Orka Energy Holding ehf.
According to FEDCO’s Web site, the joint venture has already completed several geological surveys at the geothermal field.
FEDCO, which was incorporated in 2005, explores, drills, develops, exploits and manages geothermal resources for its clients.
Orka Energy is a geothermal resource developer that has operations in Singapore and China, besides the Philippines. — Claire-Ann Marie C. Feliciano