Mexico awards geothermal exploration permits to Engie partnership

Mexico's Ministry of Energy (SENER) has awarded three geothermal exploration permits to a partnership between French utility Engie SA (EPA:ENGI) and Icelandic sector player Reykjavik Geothermal.

The permits allow the pair to explore geothermal resources located in three zones over the next three years, Engie said on Tuesday.

Each of the zones measures 150 sq km (57.9 sq miles). One is located in Sanganguey, the state of Nayarit, and the other two are in Cerro Pinto and Las Derrumbadas in the state of Puebla.

These permit awards mean that Storengy and its Icelandic partner are the first 100% foreign capital companies to invest in the Mexico’s geothermal industry, according to Efrain Villanueva Arcos, general director of clean energies at SENER. They are the outcome of a cooperation agreement signed in December 2015 by Engie’s Storengy subsidiary and Reykjavik Geothermal.

The announcement says further that SENER, the Mexican Development Bank Nacional Financiera (NAFIN) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) are jointly supporting the development of a programme aimed at curbing the risks of exploration.

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