Following is a snippet of the AFR coverage on the peaker plant...
...Strike chief executive Stuart Nicholls said the development of the facility, at the company’s South Erregulla field, came at a “critical and unique” moment in WA’s energy transition ahead of the state phasing out coal-fired power by 2030 and warnings of a potential gas shortfall. The proposed facility would feed energy into the state’s South West Interconnected System, which provides energy to homes and businesses in Perth and its surrounds. The reserve would support a project life of 25 years, and generate revenue of about $40 million to $50 million per year for the first five years of operation, according to Strike, which expects it will use 1.3 petajoules of gas each year.
However, Mr Nichols said gas shortages experienced on the east coast should serve as a reminder for the West Australian government of the consequences of project approval timidity, and policy uncertainty.“ There’s going to be a considerable gap in supply in Victoria, which is a function of investment uncertainty over a long period of time,” he said.
“What we would continue to implore is that the state government clears up the uncertainty as soon as possible, so everyone knows where they stand.”His comments come as the WA government considers whether to allow onshore gas producers, like Strike, to export their gas to more lucrative overseas markets. Offshore producers are allowed to export LNG, but reserve a small percentage for the domestic market.“
I do think that the government should be looking to make sure that the gas markets are deep and well supplied, and doing that through whatever incentive mechanisms, whether it’s opening LNG markets or other levers, is something that they should strongly consider,” Mr Nicholls said.“ If we get ourselves into a situation where the domestic gas market is the only way of monetising gas, going forward I think you will see, generally, operators, rates of drilling and rates of risk tolerance continue to reduce over time.”...
...Asked during a company briefing on Monday about reports Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting may have a small stake in Strike, and potentially be eyeing a takeover of the company, Mr Nicholls said: “No need to make any comments”. “If there was a shareholding above 5 per cent, a shareholder is required to make a substantial shareholder notice, and you should just keep an eye out on announcements around the STX ticker if that was to be the case,” he said.
That was not the question being asked on Monday. I recall the question asked was simply for comment about the alleged Hancock holding reported in the Australian.
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