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FIRST Gen Corp. plans to fast track the expansion of its recently
acquired geothermal unit, the Philippine National Oil Co.-Energy
Development Corp. (PNOC-EDC).
Richard B. Tantoco, First Gen chief operating
officer, said the company is reviewing PNOC-EDC’s proposed 310
megawatt capacity expansion in the pipeline up to 2015.
”One of the things we’re working with
PNOC-EDC right now involves the optimized and accelerated drilling
program. And its objective is to make sure that we send the
equipment and the capital expenditure to where it will generate the
greatest revenue,” he said.
Tantoco said that the company plans to compress
this schedule by 2012 in order to “deliver all the growth”
within PNOC-EDC in a much shorter time frame.
”We want all the growth to come in by around
2012 at the latest. So everything will be moved forward. However,
the ones that will be coming in by 2010, we cannot change those
anymore,” he added.
First Gen acquired the government’s 60 percent
stake in PNOC-EDC through wholly owned unit Red Vulcan Holdings
Corp. in a state-bidding in November 2007 for P58.5 billion.
PNOC-EDC, the country’s largest geothermal
producer and the second largest in the world, operates projects in
Leyte, Luzon, Negros and Mindanao with a total installed capacity of
about 1,148 megawatts.
The company has earmarked P13 billion for its
capital expenditures this year.
Paul Aquino, PNOC-EDC president, earlier said
the company is eyeing to participate in the privatization of the
192.5-megawatt Palinpinon geothermal plant, which is bundled with
the 146.5-Panay diesel-fed facility. It also plans to buy the
government’s shares in Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).
The company will likewise be expanding and
constructing three geothermal projects in Mindanao in three to four
years, which will give PNOC-EDC an additional 150 megawatts in
capacity.
Aquino said that PNOC-EDC will tap about P5
billion to P6 billion from its initial public offering proceeds to
fund the spending program while the balance will be sourced from
borrowings.
-- Euan Paulo C. Añonuevo
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