5 fold increase in gas, page-18

News picked up by AAP.

We could see renewed interest in MPO by bigger players.

Molopo shares jump 9% on gas upgrade

AAP

Molopo Australia Ltd shares have surged close to nine per cent after the company unveiled a fivefold increase in the gas potential for its Queensland assets.

The company estimates that its Qld acreage contains 7.5 trillion standard cubic feet (Tscf) of gas-in-place, with 2.3 Tscf to 3.6 Tscf gas-in-place potentially commercial at current gas prices.

Focus on Qld's coal seam gas sector has rapidly increased over the past few months with the entry of major international players BG Group Plc, Malaysia's national oil company Petronas and Royal Dutch Shell.

They are all jostling to participate in separate liquefied natural gas (LNG) developments in QLD with their Australian partners - using coal seam gas as feed - for export to lucrative Asian markets.

Molopo shares jumped 8.86 per cent to an intra-day high of $1.78 before easing to $1.76 by 1110 AEST Monday.