Amoseas to set up second geothermal power unit

JAKARTA (JP): The state oil company Pertamina and Amoseas Indonesia Inc. are now arranging for the construction of the second 55-megawatt (MW) geothermal power plant on Mount Darajat in West Java.

"We will soon finalize the negotiations of the power project, which will cost around US$30 million," Pertamina's president, Faisal Abda'oe, told reporters after meeting with executives of the State Electricity Company (PLN) yesterday.

He said he was optimistic that the negotiations will be smooth because Amoseas has developed its geothermal field on Mount Derajat, about 265 kilometers south of here, for the first power generation unit with a capacity of 55 MW.

The first plant, constructed by Mitsubishi Corp. of Japan, is scheduled to start operating in the middle of the year.

Meanwhile, Pertamina's director for exploration and production, G.A.S. Nayoan, said the negotiations are now focused on the sales of the electricity to be produced by Amoseas.

Indonesia's first major geothermal power station is located at Kamojang, also in West Java, with a capacity of 140 MW.

Nayoan said that by the end of this year, Indonesia will have geothermal plants with a total capacity of around 310 MW. He estimated that in 2000, the capacity will increase to over 1,000 MW.

With the 1,000 MW capacity, Indonesia will be the second largest geothermal power producer in the world after the United States, which now has geothermal power plants with a total capacity of some 2,000 MW, he said. (fhp)