THREE COS SUBMIT BIDS TO DEVELOP GEOTHERMAL SITES IN PHILIPPINES.

MANILA, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Three local and international companies have submitted proposals to develop two geothermal sites in the country as the First Geothermal Bidding Round successfully closed Monday.

Department of Energy (DoE) Secretary Vincent Perez said two firms submitted bids to develop Rangas-Tanawon geothermal site in Sorsogon (southern part of Luzon) and another firm expressed firm interest to undertake optimization project in the existing North Cotabato geothermal field in Mindanao.

He identified these as Japanese companies Mitsui and Marubeni and local firm CPI Energies.

Following the closing of bids, Perez said Philippine National Oil Co.-Energy Development Corp. (PNOC-EDC), the geothermal arm of the government, will commence evaluation of the proposals.

PNOC-EDC, which has existing service contracts with the government through the DoE to exploit and develop these two sites, were invited to take part in the Geothermal Bidding Round.

While these are considered one of those most prospective and attractive areas, the sites have remained undeveloped.

"The three bids we received noticeably showed strong interest from the investment community. We are hopeful that very soon, PNOC-EDC will be able to secure the most advantageous proposals and eventually seal agreements with the winning bidders to ...