MANILA, Philippines – Basic Energy Corp. and Phinma Energy Corp.

are on track to complete drilling works at the Mabini geothermal project in Batangas by the first quarter of 2017. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, Basic Energy said it has completed drilling at a depth of 660 meters as of Dec.

15, 2016, where a casing 3-1/2 inch string has been successfully installed. Setting the casing at 660 meters allows the Mabini consortium to move to the last hole section, Basic Energy senior vice president and general manager Anthony Cuaycong said.

Following the 660 meter depth, the consortium will undertake rig and equipment maintenance prior to resumption of drilling operation. Basic Energy said the consortium would pursue core drilling operations until the target depth of 1,500 meters is reached.

“Based on the current timeline, the target depth of 1,500 meters in accordance with the work commitment to the DOE will be reached within the first quarter of next year,” Cuaycong said. element-invisibleBusiness ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 In April, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued the go-signal to commence drilling at the Mabini geothermal service contract.

The consortium started drilling an exploratory well in the Mabini geothermal project last June. The well will determine the steam resource available in the service contract.

The Mabini Geothermal Service Contract No. 8, located in San Teodoro, Mabini, Batangas, covers 3,841 hectares.

Based on a pre-feasibility study, the area is projected to yield a power capacity between 20 megawatts and 60 MW Basic Energy has a 75 percent stake in the project and is the operator of the service contract. Meanwhile, Trans-Asia has an equity participation of 25 percent.

Apart from the Mabini project, Basic Energy has four other geothermal service contracts, namely the East Mankayan Geothermal Prospect in Ifugao, Mt Mariveles Geothermal Project in Bataan, Mt Iriga Geothermal Project in Albay and West Bulusan Geothermal Prospect in Sorsogon. The Iriga project has also been farmed out, with Desco Inc.

taking an 80 percent interest in the project. Meanwhile, the three remaining projects, namely East Mankayan, West Bulusan and Mariveles, is still 100 percent owned by Basic Energy.

Source: http://www.4-traders.com/BASIC-ENERGY-CORP-6090099/news/Basic-Energy-Phinma-on-track-to-finish-Mabini-geothermal-drilling-in-Q1-23568093/