Basic Energy Corp. and Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp. said spudding of exploratory wells in the Mabini Geothermal Service Contract no. 8 has already begun.
Exploratory wells with a minimum depth of 1, 500 meters was yesterday to discover the assets available in the service contract.
The consortium said the drilling project is expected to be finished within three months.
The Department of Energy (DOE) approved the drilling project in April. SC 8, located in Mabini, Batangas which stands on 3, 841 hectares of land.
Feasibility studies project the site to produce 20 to 60 MW.
Trans-Asia senior vice president Raymundo Reyes said around P50 million has been pledge for the contractor. More than twice that amount is reserved for the rest of the project.
Service contract operator Basic Energy owns 75 percent of the stake in the project, while Trans-Asia has a 25 percent equity participation.
The Lepanto Consolidated Mining Co. unit, Diamond Drilling Corp. of the Philippines, is in charged of the drilling and coring services in the project.