EDC extends PNG contract

MANILA, Philippines - Lopez-owned Energy Development Corp. (EDC) has extended anew its contract with Lihir Gold Ltd. Papua New Guinea to Dec. 31, 2012, a company report to the Philippine Stock Exchange said.

The company said this is the fifth renewal of the Lihir contract, a major source of drilling revenues since 1999.

As of the first nine months of 2011, the geothermal firm has generated P522.3 million in revenues from the contract. This represents 2.9 percent of the company’s P18.22-billion gross revenues for the first three quarters of 2011.

While EDC’s international operation still forms a small part of the company’s revenues, over the years, the company has expanded its international ventures to support its revenue growth.

Early this year, EDC intensified its overseas business exposure by applying for more than 10 concession areas in Chile.

EDC has created a subsidiary, EDC Chile Ltd. on Feb. 11, 2010 for this venture.

EDC had also been invited to bid for a geothermal drilling contract in Kenya.

EDC is also looking at other areas for expansion abroad such as in South Asia and in the Middle East. It had set up a representative branch in Indonesia as part of the initial move to explore the geothermal development business in that country.