Lopez-led ThermaPrime Drilling Corp., the country’s leading geothermal well drilling company, is expanding operations by acquiring three more rigs to support the geothermal expansion program of its affiliate firm, Energy Development Corp. (EDC).
ThermaPrime said two of the three drilling rigs have a capacity of 1,500 horsepower (hp) while the third has a 1,000-hp capacity.
The company said it purchased the rigs recently from the United States and United Arab Emirates but declined to disclose the amount involved.
ThermaPrime said the three drilling rigs augment its two current 2,000-hp rigs and support the development of additional geothermal wells of EDC, the country’s biggest vertically integrated geothermal company.
EDC is currently undertaking a P30-billion program to drill until 2026 another 40 geothermal wells in its geothermal sites in Albay, Sorsogon, Leyte, Negros and Davao for its parent firm First Gen Corp.
The drilling forms part of the overall program of First Gen as a group to expand its renewable energy (RE) capacity by over 7,000 megawatts (MW) by 2030.
ThermaPrime, which specializes in drilling geothermal wells and related services, has been a key enabler of geothermal power in the country completing over 200 projects since the company was founded in 2011.
First Gen has a combined capacity of 3,668.2 MW with a portfolio utilizing natural gas, geothermal, hydroelectric, wind and solar power technologies.
The company also aims to grow its total capacity to 13,000 MW in the next six years and spend as much as $20 billion until 2030.
