announcement

26 August 2010 Cougar Energy seeks urgent Queensland Government clarification on Kingaroy Environmental Evaluation Report Cougar Energy Limited (ASX: CXY) advises that it is today seeking urgent clarification of the Queensland Governments position in relation to the Environmental Evaluation Report submitted by Cougar Energy to the Government on 16 August 2010. This follows a series of seemingly varying statements and announcements made throughout yesterday by the Government in relation to the Report and Cougar Energys Kingaroy operations. Cougar Energy advises that it received yesterday verbal advice - followed by an undated letter from the Queensland Governments Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) - that DERM will not be accepting the environmental report. The DERM letter continues You will be formally advised of that decision and any further regulatory requirements in due course. No formal reasons were given in the letter as to why the Queensland Government has taken this action and no formal request for further information has been made in the letter. DERM has previously stated that in circumstances where it does not accept an Environmental Report it will either: a) require another Environmental Evaluation; or b) require additional information. Also yesterday in a Media Release released late last night from the Queensland Governments Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability The Hon. Kate Jones, the Minister states that DERM rejects the Environmental Report. The Minister continues in the Media Release to state that the Company has failed to provide all of the information requested by the department in the Environmental Evaluation Notice. Contrary to this statement by the Minister, Cougar Energy received a detailed series of questions in the Environmental Evaluation Notice and provided answers to all of those questions. The Company notes that the Minister also advised a meeting of people at a community forum in Kingaroy last night of the decision announced later in the Media Release (posted at 10.17 pm). The Company became aware of the Ministers statement this morning.
THE NEW POWER IN AUSTRALIA
Cougar Energy Limited T: + 61 3 9909 7200 ASX: CXY
Suite 1002, 530 Little Collins Street F: + 61 3 9909 7217 Reuters: CXY.AX
Melbourne 3000 Australia www.cougarenergy.com.au Bloomberg: CXY AU
Cougar Energy is surprised and confused by these contradicting statements from the Government and DERM. In fact, adding to the confusion, with the acknowledgment of DERM the Company is currently preparing supplementary technical information for the Environmental Report. This information was to be delivered by next Monday 30 August 2010. The Company has co-operated with the Government and DERM during this process and understood until last night that a genuine consultation with DERM about the merits of the Environmental Report was continuing. Cougar Energy seeks to resume that level of consultation after seeking clarification of the various positions today. Once Cougar Energy receives formal reasons and a request for a further environmental evaluation, it is confident that it can demonstrate that the Kingaroy operation will not harm the environment.