Viability of coal mine, power plant studied

A Japanese consulting firm is studying the commercial viability of the government’s plan to develop an open pit coal mine and a 50-megawatt (MW) power plant outside the mine of Philippine National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC).

PNOC-EC president Rufino Bomasang said he was informed by the Japan Consulting Institute (JCI) that it expects to complete a study for PNOC-EC by the middle of this year. If it is feasible, Bomasang said they would invite a foreign strategic partner to join them in this project.

The coal mine, Bomasang said, is located in the northern province of Isabela. PNOC-EC and former project partner US-based Cogentrix Inc. had earlier completed a drilling program that delineated 28 million tons of recoverable lignite in this area.

According to Bomasang, Cogentrix backed out from the coal mine project after deciding to pull out of its Asian operations last year.

Earlier, PNOC-EC took control of the coal field from a British firm, North Strip Mining, that had explored the field extensively in the 1980s. But the British company later went bankrupt.

"We are not talking to a new partner yet. We want to finish first the JCI study before we bring in a new partner," the PNOC-EC official said.

But, he said they would definitely look for a foreign partner since they would need additional funds for these two projects. "We still need to invite a foreign partner because even a 50-MW power plant requires something like $50 million," he said.