Cooper Energy said it is pursuing a dual stream process to identify and secure the optimal financing for the Sole gas project located in the Gippsland Basin offshore Victoria.
According to the company which has 100% interest in the Sole gas field, the options under consideration include senior bank project finance and senior secured bonds.
Cooper Energy managing director, David Maxwell , said: “We expect to make a decision on our preferred source of debt funding within August, having regard to optimising our capital structure and value for shareholders. The timelines associated with our financing process remain consistent with our timeline for first gas from the Sole project.”
Gas produced from the Sole field will be piped to the Orbost Gas Plant from where the gas will be supplied to customers through the Eastern Gas Pipeline.
Cooper Energy will solely undertake the upstream development, which has an expected capital cost of $355 million. Subsea pipeline and umbilical contract has already been awarded to Subsea 7 .
First gas from the Sole gas project is planned to be delivered to the Orbost Gas Plant in the March quarter of 2019.