MEO Australia Plans to Sell Stake in Tassie Shoal Methanol, LNG Projects

MEO Australia on Thursday announced plans to monetise its Tassie Shoal Methanol and LNG projects proposed for offshore Northern Australia.

The methanol projects offer the opportunity to develop two 1.75 Mtpa methanol plants with the potential to accept gas with a CO2 content of up to 30%.

The developments have the potential to provide a commercially attractive development path for the large nearby undeveloped gas resources.

According to MEO, the Tassie Shoal Projects also provide the opportunity to develop a 3Mtpa LNG facility which may provide material cost savings relative to other LNG regional development options such as LNG processing at Darwin or floating LNG technology.

Environmental approvals have been secured and remain current until 2052. The LNG Project environmental approvals include provision for a review process every five years, with the next review due in 2017.

“Having progressed the project to this point and taking account of the interest expressed in the assets along with recent transactional evidence in the region, we feel now is the time to offer equity in the Tassie Shoal Projects to other participants who can further enhance the value of the projects. With its prime location and strong underlying demand for the Tassie Shoal production stream, we believe the Projects provide significant early-mover advantage to an acquirer," managing director Jurgen Hendrich said.

MEO's other assets comprise seven Australian permits and a producing oil discovery, onshore New Zealand.