Gas company NGC Holdings Ltd said today it has secured an option to buy gas from currently undeveloped fields in Taranaki.
The company has made a $2 million downpayment to Indo-Pacific Energy Ltd on future gas purchases . The payment also entitles NGC to negotiate first for gas produced by Indo-Pacific
for the next 10 years.
The payment will help fund Indo-Pacific's development of prospects, particularly the Kahili and Cheal discoveries.
"NGC has previously announced it is looking at ways of developing its wholesale gas position in the post-Maui supply era," NGC chief executive Phil James said.
"This era is likely to be characterised by supply from multiple smaller fields, with a strategic proportion of gas being brought to the market by smaller explorers developing previously uneconomic fields in Taranaki.
"NGC is pleased to have established a relationship with Indo-Pacific that will facilitate the timely development of new reserves and to help get this gas to end users as the Maui field winds down."
Indo-Pacific Energy Ltd is a Canadian incorporated company headquartered in Wellington, with production and an extensive portfolio of exploration assets in the Taranaki Basin. It also holds exploration interests in the Timor Sea and Papua New Guinea.
Shares in NGC, 66 per cent-owned by The Australian Gas Light Co, last traded down 3c at $1.47.
- NZPA
