ChevronTexaco Energy Indonesia Ltd. to Add 110 Megawatt (MW) Unit at Darajat Power Plant
Nov 23, 2004 -- ChevronTexaco confirmed today that a final investment decision has been reached by its Indonesian affiliate to expand the Darajat geothermal power project by building a new 110 MW generating unit in Garut, West Java. ChevronTexaco Energy Indonesia Ltd (CTEI) (formerly called Amoseas Indonesia Inc.) operates 100 percent of the geothermal resource.
"The $128 million expansion project provides ChevronTexaco with an opportunity to profitably grow its business in the Republic of Indonesia, and at the same time assist the country in meeting its growing electrical requirements," said George Kirkland, president of ChevronTexaco Overseas Petroleum. "The new unit will help meet the electricity demands in Java, Madura and Bali, where supply shortages are anticipated."
Wahyudin Yudiana, president director of ChevronTexaco's Indonesia Business Unit, added, "We support the efforts of Indonesia's energy officials who believe that alternative energy resources, such as geothermal energy, should be developed, thus reducing the country's dependency on declining petroleum reserves that can be better utilized."
The Darajat geothermal resources are abundant, clean, renewable and able to easily generate up to 330 megawatts of electrical power for use within Indonesia. To date, only 145 megawatts of Darajat I and II's environmentally clean electricity has been utilized, leaving more than half of the area's potential geothermal resources still available for future development.
The expansion has been approved, and a new energy sales contract signed, by Indonesia's power company, Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), and state oil enterprise Pertamina earlier this year.
"Tradable United Nation's Clean Development Mechanism credits, ("CDM") credits generated by the project for CO2 emissions reduction, are to be pursued for approvals by appropriate Indonesian and international authorities and contribute significantly to the Project economics, which is a significant factor in the approval of the Project" said Yudiana.
In October, CTEI awarded the Darajat III Engineering, Procurement and Construction contract to the consortium of Indonesian firm PT. Thiess Contractors Indonesia and Japanese firm Kanematsu Corporation. Construction of the new Darajat III plant will be completed within two years and commercial operation is expected to begin by the 3rd quarter of 2006. The plant is expected to be in operation for 30 years.
Darajat Unit III Project will be the second plant built by CTEI as part of the Darajat Project, which was first launched in 1984 to develop the abundant geothermal resources in Garut, West Java. Darajat Geothermal Indonesia is CTEI's 5% partner in Darajat III. (end of release)
