PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Cooper Energy on Tuesday announced a final investment decision (FID) for the A$533-million Sole gas project, offshore Victoria, after securing a fully underwritten finance package.
The finance package includes a A$250-million senior secured bank debt facility underwritten by Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and Natixis, a A$15-million senior secured working capital facility, and a fully underwritten accelerated nonrenounceable entitlement offer that will raise some A$135-million.
“Today’s FID declaration is the culmination of five years’ effort under our gas strategy to identify, secure and develop gas resources best placed to supply south-east Australia with a new source of gas supply,” said Cooper Energy MD David Maxwell.
“We now have a fully funded gas project that is proceeding on schedule to deliver new gas supply to south-east Australia in 2019.”
Some 25 PJ/y of gas, or four-million barrels of oil equivalent, will be produced from the Sole gasfield, which will be piped to the Orbost gas plant, from where it will be supplied to customers through the Easter gas pipeline.
Based on the current ownership, the first full year of operation from Sole is expected to lift Cooper Energy’s yearly production to more than six-million barrels of oil equivalent, a significant increase on the near one-million barrels of oil equivalent produced in the 2017 financial year.
Some 75% of the field’s gas has been contracted under long-term agreements with AGL Energy, EnergyAustralia, Alinta Energy and O-I Australia.