Geothermal Development in Papua New Guinea, a Country Update Report 2005-2009

Abstract

Lihir Island is located about 700 kilometers northeast of the capital of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby (Figure 1). Gold ore was discovered on the island in 1982, and gold production began in May 1997 by Lihir Gold Ltd (LGL).
The Lihir gold mine project is located in an area with abundant geothermal energy. In 2001, LGL contracted with Geothermal Development Associates (GDA) to design and supply a 6 MW non-condensing geothermal plant. The installation was commissioned in April 2003. In July 2003, LGL contracted GDA to supply a 30 MW, single flash, condensing geothermal unit that was commissioned in mid 2005. Due to the success of the two plants, LGL contracted with GDA again in 2005 to add a 20 MW extension, which was commissioned in February 2007. This increased the mine’s total geothermal capacity to 56MWe - approximately 75 percent of total electrical power required by LGL in 2007.
Geothermal power provides significant cost savings for LGL compared to heavy fuel oil powered generation. The geothermal plants have also been formally certified as facilities that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enabling LGL to generate carbon credits and sell them on global markets. Drilling to assess the potential for additional steam reserves for further geothermal power generation is ongoing.
Presently PNG government agencies are establishing policies and programs which are aimed at encouraging the diffusion of new and affordable renewable energy technologies, one of them being geothermal energy. However, at present, there are no other recorded geothermal power projects planned elsewhere in PNG.