Rehabilitated wells of AboitizPower producing steam

By Lenie Lectura – August 27, 2019
from Business Mirror

ABOITIZ Power Corp. said the rehabilitated wells in the Tiwi and MakBanGeothermal Complex have already started producing steam.

“We have started looking at rehabilitating some wells in Tiwi. It’s 12 wells, with 50 megawatts (MW). We signed the contract. I think we’re already seeing some of the output…on some of the well rehabilitation, yes, it’s already producing steam,” said Aboitiz Power Chief Operating Officer Emmanuel Rubio.

However, the output is “not significant yet.”

APRenewables Inc. (Apri),a wholly owned subsidiary of AboitizPower, operates the 458-MW MakBanGeothermal Power Plants that straddle the provinces of  Batangas and Laguna, as well as the 289-MW Tiwi Geothermal Power Plants in Albay.

Philippine Geothermal Production Co. Inc.(PGPC), formerly Philippine Geothermal Inc., is the steamfields operator and geothermal resource provider to the power plants.

Both signed last year a Geothermal Resources Supply and Services Agreement (GRSSA) for the supply of steam and drilling of new production wells in the Tiwi and MakBanGeothermal Complex.

Under the GRSSA, PGPC will drill 12 new production wells over a six-year period to increase steam availability for the power plant facilities by about 20 percent. The agreement also ensures a more competitive fuel pricing in the long term.

First commissioned in 1979, the Tiwi-MakBan Geothermal Complex is one of the biggest geothermal facilities in the country and the region. PGPC has since operated the steamfield facilities. AboitizPower took over the operations and management of the power plant facilities from the National Power Corp. in 2009.