WorldWide Drilling Resource

Overcoming Natural Calamities Compiled by Caleb Whitaker, Associate Editor Worldwide Drilling Resource ® In 2017, natural calamities hit Leyte island in the Philippines. The Leyte geothermal facility owned by Energy Development Corp. (EDC) was affected by a 6.5-magnitude earthquake, as well as landslides and flooding brought by Typhoon Urduja. The company’s Leyte unit was on track for a record year until it got struck by the two major calamities. Before the typhoon ravaged the island, the Leyte geothermal facilities were producing 462 megawatts (MWs), but afterward were down to only 246 MWs. Despite the initial shock from the earthquake and typhoon, the EDC team worked hard to suc- cessfully restore much-needed electricity to their countrymen in the Visayas region. In 2018, EDC implemented a capital expenditure program to boost reliability, efficiency, and resiliency of its power assets, especially those hit by natural calamities. The biggest compo- nent of the program was for drilling works on three wells in its geothermal asset in Leyte. EDC also invested heavi ly in resiliency projects by increasing seismic specifications and landslide mitigation of its assets. For the first six months of the year, Leyte’s generation vol- ume was down by 18.5%. However, major power plants in Leyte are now back in service, so the downtrend is expected to reverse. EDC is starting to see their operational efficiency initia- tives pay off. Contact Information: Dean Robbins Phone: (512) 472-7437 • Fax: (512) 472-0537 E-mail: drobbins@twca.org • www.tgwa.org TGWA Annual Convention & Trade Show January 23-25, 2019 San Marcos Embassy Suites & Conference Center San Marcos, TX Trade Show, the Latest Industry Technologies, Policy/Rule Updates, Education Classes for Water Well Drillers and Pump Installers, Golf/Bowling Tournament, Auction, & More! to develop, promote, and protect Texas groundwater GEO 32 DECEMBER 2018 WorldWide Drilling Resource ®