The Ministry of Finance of the Government of Mexico has announced a tender called “Acquisition of Geothermal Well Drilling Services” , for the drilling of six geothermal wells in four areas with geothermal potential, as part of a new exploratory drive by the public company CFE .The bidding documents were issued on 7 March 2023 and the deadline to submit proposals is on 12 May 2023. The tender, supervised by the Institute of Electricity and Clean Energy (Ineel) , involves the exploration of areas such as Los Negritos, San Marcos, Cerro Prieto and Las Tres Vírgenes, and will be financed with US$51 million from the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The purpose of the tender is to contract a single drilling services provider with two drilling rigs to perform drilling services for six (6) exploratory geothermal wells, distributed in the four mentioned geothermal areas. If the exploration is successful, the IDB will finance the CFE for the construction of a possible geothermal plant through a line of credit.
The tender is part of the program: “Financing and Risk Transfer Program for Geothermal Energy in Mexico”, under the Non-Reimbursable Financing Agreement with Contingent Recovery No. GRT/TC-14424-ME of the Inter-American Development Bank.
Earlier this year, the Secretariat of Energy of Mexico announced the grant of 22 geothermal exploration permits in Mexico, mainly in Baja California. The exploration permits were granted to conduct more detailed geological, geophysical, and geochemical studies of the geothermal areas.
