MEO Australia Wins Tassie Shoal Extension

MEO Australia said that the Federal Government has updated the Timor Sea LNG Project environmental approval. Concurrent with this revision the Department confirmed that the approval will remain valid until at least 28th March 2017.

The Federal Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities reviewed the status of the environmental approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) and requested a revision to the terms of the approval to bring it into line with recent approval decisions.

Several of the revisions are now standard features of current approvals and are primarily borne out of the Montara Incident and subsequent Inquiry. Other revisions reflect contemporary practice and provide greater guidance on the requirements for the construction, operations and oil spill plans which will form the basis of subsequent approvals required before project commencement.

MEO’s CEO and MD Jürgen Hendrich said: “We are very pleased that the Government has revised the terms of the Tassie Shoal LNG project environmental approval and has given a clear, minimum five year extension. This initiative supports our efforts to commercialise this Project together with the Tassie Shoal Methanol Project and provides the clarity needed by prospective project partners to evaluate the projects.”

MEO has secured environmental approvals for a proposed 3.0MTA LNG plant to be located at Tassie Shoal.

The location is adjacent to many undeveloped gas resources in the region including the Blackwood and Heron discoveries in the nearby NT/P68 exploration permit (MEO 50%).

Pre-FEED development plans have been prepared and costed for the proposed development which has the potential to reduce LNG project development costs by in excess of US$2bn compared to FLNG or land based development.

The project has been granted Major Project Facilitation Status by the Federal Government Department of Infrastructure and Transport.

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LNG World News Staff, March 29, 2012