Cougar says A$34m Qld lawsuit making progress
PERTH (miningweekly.com) − ASX-listed Cougar Energy would press ahead with its strategy of expanding into Asia, while seeking recovery for the shut down of its Kingaroy power plant project, in Queensland, the company said last week.
Earlier this month, Cougar launched a A$34-million lawsuit against the Queensland government and three of its officials over the state’s decision to halt the development of the Kingaroy coal gasification trial site.
The company said it had made progress in its litigation launched against the Queensland government over what chairperson Malcolm McAully called the “unreasonable and unjustified” shut down of the Kingaroy project.
He noted that the company had also moved forward with significant negotiations with government authorities and local partners for underground coal gasification developments in China and Mongolia.
“I can assure you that the board, management and staff have been working extremely hard on each of these initiatives and are achieving progress across both fronts,” he told shareholders at a meeting on Friday.
“We have been meticulous in the preparation of court actions and believe we have a robust case for compensation and losses,” said McAully.
The Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) in July banned Cougar from performing any operations at the Kingaroy project, other than rehabilitation and monitoring. At the time, the company stated that it had provided DERM with extensive technical and third-party expert reports which maintained that Kingaroy posed no environmental harm.
Meanwhile, MD Len Walker said that since initiating business in Asia, Cougar has received an increasing number of enquiries from companies requesting access to its knowledge and operational skills in the region.
Walker said that current progress in the region included Cougar’s plans for setting up an Asian corporate structure to use for developing Asian projects.
“In each of China, Mongolia, and Indonesia, the company is negotiating with both the government and private sectors to access coal deposits suitable for development using underground coal gasification processes,” said Walker.
“While power generation is the immediate focus for development, due to both demand and simplicity of use, there is also strong interest to use the syngas for conversion to natural gas and other petrochemical products.”
Edited by: Mariaan Webb
Earlier this month, Cougar launched a A$34-million lawsuit against the Queensland government and three of its officials over the state’s decision to halt the development of the Kingaroy coal gasification trial site.
The company said it had made progress in its litigation launched against the Queensland government over what chairperson Malcolm McAully called the “unreasonable and unjustified” shut down of the Kingaroy project.
He noted that the company had also moved forward with significant negotiations with government authorities and local partners for underground coal gasification developments in China and Mongolia.
“I can assure you that the board, management and staff have been working extremely hard on each of these initiatives and are achieving progress across both fronts,” he told shareholders at a meeting on Friday.
“We have been meticulous in the preparation of court actions and believe we have a robust case for compensation and losses,” said McAully.
The Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) in July banned Cougar from performing any operations at the Kingaroy project, other than rehabilitation and monitoring. At the time, the company stated that it had provided DERM with extensive technical and third-party expert reports which maintained that Kingaroy posed no environmental harm.
Meanwhile, MD Len Walker said that since initiating business in Asia, Cougar has received an increasing number of enquiries from companies requesting access to its knowledge and operational skills in the region.
Walker said that current progress in the region included Cougar’s plans for setting up an Asian corporate structure to use for developing Asian projects.
“In each of China, Mongolia, and Indonesia, the company is negotiating with both the government and private sectors to access coal deposits suitable for development using underground coal gasification processes,” said Walker.
“While power generation is the immediate focus for development, due to both demand and simplicity of use, there is also strong interest to use the syngas for conversion to natural gas and other petrochemical products.”
Edited by: Mariaan Webb
Comments
Post a Comment