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Gold/Mining/Energy : Lundin Oil (LOILY, LOILB Sweden) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Greywolf who wrote (1191)	7/15/1999 11:49:00 PM
From: Tomas	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2742

Papua New Guinea: Formal gas sales contracts likely to be signed next week Sydney Morning Herald, July 16 Queensland's Energex, Ergon likely buyers of piped gas By KATE ASKEW, Resources Writer The $3.8-billion Papua New Guinea-to-Queensland gas pipeline project is expected to have signed the Queensland Government-owned energy utilities Energex and Ergon as customers by early next week, securing the necessary gas sales to underwrite the project's development. There was strong speculation yesterday that the pipeline participants were on the verge of signing-off on the formal gas sales agreements with the energy companies, following lengthy meetings in Brisbane this week. The participants are yet to agree on some details with customers, including the level of delivery insurance to be put up, but their differences after months of negotiations are understood to be minor. The customers in this week's negotiations, of which Energex and Ergon are key, but which also include several new power stations and Comalco's proposed alumina project, will form the foundation group of gas users. Also buoying sentiment for the pipeline project was Wednesday's news that the former chairman of PNG's Reserve Bank, Sir Mekere Morauta, had been elected Papua New Guinea's new Prime Minister. Prime Minister Morauta's ministry is expected to be announced early next week and is likely to include one minister solely responsible for the PNG-to-Queensland gas pipeline project. Meanwhile, sentiment has also been growing towards Comalco's committing to the development of its alumina project, which will use gas supplied by the pipeline. "The Comalco alumina project remains critical to Comalco," stockbroker ABN Amro said in a recent report. "The project offers valuation upside (principally via low-cost brownfield opportunities at Weipa) and growth in the high margin end of the aluminium business." Throwing the Comalco alumina project into the front line was the announcement earlier this week that Norsk Hydro had stepped back from its planned alumina project in India, to buy into the existing Alunorte operation in Brazil. As well, US-based Kaiser Aluminum's announcement that it would be several months at least before it could have its Gramercy alumina refinery back on line following an explosion last week, also raised expectations that international alumina output would be reduced, making Comalco's project more viable. "Comalco's [alumina project] would now surely be the frontrunner of new greenfields developments for next decade," ABN Amro said. smh.com.au