North coast coal-seam gas (CSG) miner Metgasco has lost almost $120 million up to the end of last year, with some of the losses due to its ongoing legal battle with the NSW government over the Bentley licence suspension.
And the company is still waiting to get formal approval for its gas production licence to produce gas for its planned Richmond Valley power station.
The company’s latest financial report shows it recorded a loss of just over $2 million ($2,105,164) for the half year to December 31, 2014 and an accumulated loss of almost $120 million ($119,761,170), with its total equity at just under $10 million ($9,906,903).
The report says that in the six-month period, its main activities involved the NSW Supreme Court action to try to overturn the suspension on its Rosella drilling approval and a merger with US miner Elk Petroleum Limited.
Directors say the company incurred ‘significant legal expenses’ over the ongoing legal action. It is still waiting on court decision.
The company lost a similar amount in the last half 2013.
Meanwhile, Metgasco is also still trying to seek the formal award of its production licence from the NSW government for the Richmond Valley Power Station and Casino Gas Project development approved in June 2010.
Directors say the company initially applied for the gas production licence (PPLA9) in 2008 and that ‘seven years later, the government is still to issue the formal licence document’.
The company’s latest quarterly activity report says ‘Minister Chris Hartcher announced the licence award in September 2012.
‘Metgasco has been offered the production licence and accepted all conditions on two occasions, the last being on 22 November 2012, and paid $140,000 of grant and security fees for the licence in 2010 and 2011,’ the directors said.
Former energy minister Mr Hartcher quit parliament in disgrace after an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) inquiry last year.
The former Liberal Party minister was accused of masterminding a scheme to funnel illegal political donations to candidates before the last NSW election.
All The Fiasco (Metgasco) and its lapdog Henderson can do, is issue statements about how correct and great they are and how everyone else is wrong. But for all this talk about the glory of ‘Mining” – The Fiasco are wannabe’s. They haven’t done anything – at all – for years. And we sit quietly and watch in amusement as their share price keeps falling – now at 26cents. Congratulations, Warriors and Protectors for Mother Earth – locally and everywhere.
Well, doesn’t your heart go out to them ?
I mean, after all, there they go trying to make a few billion out of a cozy little scheme, cooked up with the aid of another shonky Liberal minister and full participation of the local member and family members, and then it all goes pear-shaped just because the local nobodies (who normally don’t even have to be consulted or bribed) object to their land, air and water being irreparably poisoned. This is a terrible affront to the normal process of capital accumulation, if business loses confidence in their ability to bribe an official and then have their way with national resources, where will it end? And then there is poor Mr Hartcher, in disgrace and having to leave his place at the trough, I haven’t heard that he is doing ‘hard labour’ but I’m sure he wouldn’t get out of it all, by merely changing his position, would he?
G”)
Share price 2.6c or $0.026. The 400 million or so shares are worth about $10.4m – a little more than their money in the bank.
While I am delighted with the success of the Bentley Blockade, it is still only a temporary reprieve, in one battle in this war.
Mean time the industry is cementing itself in place in Queensland, where the front-line in this war really is. The only way to secure long term protection from this industry is to ban it, it’s not cleaner, it’s not greener, and it is not safe.
Metgasco’s share price is now 2.6 cents, and last week was at an all-time low of 2.3 cents. I never ceased to be amazed how METGASCO can still borrow money to lend to Elk Petroleum in USA.
This public company called METGASCO hasn’t earned a cent yet continues to spend investors money like water.
The Casino office has closed, the Finance Director has done the bolt, and it is about time the government forcibly wound METGASCO up.
The major investor trying to get into the csg market seems to be ERM, who are listed as the top shareholder in Metgasco’s last annual report.
Margaret Howes
320 Moylans Lane,
Empire Vale NSW
Phone 0428-878-505
Diddums. Couldn’t happen to a more deserving bunch of C U Next Tuesdays (with thanks to Christopher Pyne). 🙂
Go back to the city Hendo. You and your toxic company are not wanted here. The wheels are falling off the coal and gas industry as more and more investors and communities divest from investing in the fossil “fool” industry in favour of renewables.