PT Thiess Contractors Indonesia in consortium with Kanematsu Corporation has been awarded a US$83M contract for Engineering, Procurement and Construction of the Darajat Unit III Project by ChevronTexaco Energy Indonesia.

The project duration is 22 months with completion scheduled for September 2006. Thiess will lead the consortium and are responsible for the management and execution the total contract; with Kanematsu being responsible for the design, supply, and commissioning of the MHI steam turbine generator package. Thiess' EPC scope of work represents 70% of the consortium contract value.

The project includes the development of a 110 MW geothermal power plant at Darajat, near Garut, West Java, Indonesia. The project is the third stage of the ChevronTexaco's development of the Darajat Geothermal Resource. Unit III will be installed on a common site as an extension to ChevronTexaco's existing Darajat Unit II geothermal power station. The two units will share common facilities, including the steam gathering system.

The Darajat Geothermal Resource is located on the flanks of Mt Kendang in West Java, approximately 40 km south-east of Bandung, the major provincial city of the region, and 150 km south-east of Jakarta. The resource is within a volcanic range containing centres of relatively recent activity; and vigorous surface displays of geothermal activity occur within the area. The resource is located in steep and rugged terrain, some 2000 metres above sea level. The Darajat geothermal field is a substantial high quality resource producing dry steam at the wellhead; and includes some very large wells (40 MW capacity from one well - the worldwide average is 5-10 MW/well). The resource is one of only a few dry steam fields in the world.

The contract scope of work includes:

• A nominal 110 MW Unit III Power Plant adjacent to and interconnected with the existing Unit II Power Plant, including the installation of the turbine generator unit including associated auxiliaries. The existing Unit II turbine hall will be extended to house the Unit III turbine generator unit and auxiliaries. Unit II is to remain operational throughout the contract.
• Steamfield works, involving procurement, construction, testing and commissioning of the expanded design for the existing geothermal steam gathering system which will connect additional geothermal wells.

The operating Unit II site has adjacent land available for the Unit III expansion. Due to restrictive roadways within the hilly Darajat region and limited temporary construction areas available at the site, a challenge for the project will be logistics, traffic management, and scheduling. The project will focus on community relations and will maximise the use of local construction resources.