Logo taken from https://www.energy.com.ph
Energy Development Corp., the country’s largest geothermal producer, on Thursday sealed its acquisition of a 70-percent stake in each of the four geothermal concession projects in Chile and Peru, as part of its effort to expand operations globally.
In a statement issued Friday, EDC said it signed a joint venture agreement with Australian firm Hot Rock Ltd., to develop the Calerias and Longavi projects in Chile, and the Quellaapacheta and Chocopata projects in Peru.
The four concession areas were among the 23 geothermal tenements across Chile, Peru and Australia that Hot Rock was able to acquire previously. The company reportedly was among the first to identify and obtain some of the most attractive concession areas in Latin America.
Hot Rock’s partnership with the Lopez affiliate is now expected to accelerate the development of the four projects in Chile and Peru, allowing them to offer clean, reliable and indigenous source of energy.
“We are pleased with the speedy conclusion of the negotiations with HRL as we now look forward to starting exploration work in what we view as attractive geothermal concessions in both Chile and Peru,” said EDC chair and CEO Federico Lopez. “The acquisition of these concessions in Latin America are the first steps in realizing our vision to establish a global presence.”
According to EDC, the two parties are continuing discussions to look at the possibility of expanding the scope of partnership by including the other geothermal concession areas owned by the Australian firm.
The Chilean Ministry of Energy had already confirmed the awarding of the Newen, San Rafael and Batea geothermal exploration concessions to EDC.
With a portfolio of geothermal exploration projects in Chile, EDC is set to deploy within the month a team of geothermal scientists to start the development of the projects.
EDC is currently the world’s largest integrated producer of geothermal power. It is now looking at opportunities to develop projects in Indonesia and Kenya.