newspaper article

Just thought I would share this article from the South Burnett Times dated 08.05.09 which was titled:-

GAS POWER PLANS ON TRACK

Above the headline is a photograph of a drilling rig & some work vehicles. Beneath the photograph reads "A Cougar Energy drilling rig during the pump testing of the Kingaroy coal seam." The photograph appears to be taken looking back towards Kingaroy.

Cougar Energy's effort to build a gas-fired power station near Kingaroy is going full stream ahead.

It is about to undertake an international road trip to get $250 million needed to build a 200 megawatt station.

Planning for a pilot burn is being done and 100 jobs will be provided during the facility's construction.

About 60 people will be needed to manage its operation.

"We're hoping to complete the first stage by 2012," Cougar Energy Energy's managing director Len Walker said.

"We'd run it for a period of time before ramping it up to 400 megawatts in the year after that."

This would provide electricity to 400,000 homes and power a city the size of Brisbane.

Cougar would then look at further expansion if its Kingaroy project was a success.

Mr Walker said the global economy was turning around and there was an obvious need for new resources to power Queensland.

The Kingaroy power station will be fuelled by a process that extracts gas from underground coal and will supply electricity around the clock.

Natural gas power stations operate only during peak hours of demand due to its high cost.

"Our gas is considerably cheaper so we can run the gasified power station as a base load." Mr Walker said.

"And the carbon emissions will be substantially less than of the conventionally coal-powered fire stations."

Cougar has now hired Brad Glynne to get the funding it needs.

Mr Glynne worked as Citigroup's corporate banking director in Australia and led its Metals and Mining Industry Group.

He also worked for 10 years with Credit Suisse and Crudity Suisse First Boston in Melbourne and Zurich. Article ends.