Pertamina signs two geothermal contracts
Pertamina signs two geothermal contracts
JAKARTA (JP): Amoseas of the United States and private company PT Dizamatra Powerindo won contracts to develop geothermal fields and power plants in West Java and North Sumatra with total investments of US$395 million.
Amoseas, which acts as the legal representative of Chevron Darajat Ltd. and Texaco Darajat Ltd. of the United States, signed a joint operation contract with the state oil company Pertamina to develop the Darajat geothermal field in West Java and to build four power generation units with a combined capacity of 275 megawatts (MW).
On the same occasion, Amoseas and Pertamina signed an energy sales contract with the state electricity company PT PLN. The price set for the electricity generated by the power units is 6.95 U.S. cents per kilowatt hour (kWh).
"Our geothermal resources, estimated to be capable of supporting power plants with a total capacity of between 16,000 MW and 19,000 MW, are one of the largest reserves in the world but only 309.5 MW of the potential has been harnessed to generate electricity," Minister of Mines and Energy I.B. Sudjana noted at the signing ceremony here yesterday.
Amoseas, which currently supplies geothermal steam to PLN's 55-MW Darajat power plant, will build four new power generation units. The first of them, with a capacity of 70 MW, which will be called the second stage of the Darajat power station, is scheduled to come on stream in 1998.
The third, fourth and fifth stages, each with a capacity of about 70 MW, will be completed gradually in 1999, 2001 and 2003.
Dizamatra signed a steam procurement contract with Pertamina to supply four power generation units with a combined capacity of 120 MW, which will be built by the private company near the Sibayak geothermal field at Berastagi in North Sumatra.
Dizamatra also signed an electricity sales contract with PLN yesterday, with the electricity price set at 7.0 U.S. cents per kWh.
Dizamatra's president, Djan Farids, said his company is still looking for foreign partners to build the power stations, the first of which, with a capacity of 20 MW, is scheduled to come on stream in 1997.
When asked about the planned investment, Djan said the plant would cost an average of $1 million per megawatt hour.
Meanwhile, Pertamina's director for exploration and production, Priyambodo Mulyosudirjo, said yesterday that under the joint operation contract, Amoseas is allowed to operate the geothermal fields for 42 years and the power units for 30 years.
He said Dizamatra is licensed to operate its power units for 30 years.
Yesterday's agreements were signed by Pertamina's president Faisal Abda'oe, PLN's president Djiteng Marsudi, Djan Farids of Dizamatra and Jim Cox of Amoseas.
Pertamina signed five geothermal deals in November with domestic and foreign companies to explore geothermal resources in Java and Bali and to establish power plants with a combined capacity of 400 MW.
In December 1994, the state oil company also signed geothermal contracts with four American companies to develop geothermal fields and to establish power plants in West and Central Java with a combined capacity of 1,420 MW and total investments of $3.46 billion. (04)
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