Methanex, Geopark and Wintershall Awarded Gas Exploration Block in Southern Chile
July 16 2008 - 10:10AM
Marketwired
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA (NASDAQ: MEOH)(SANTIAGO: Methanex)
announced today that the Government of Chile has awarded the Otway
gas exploration block to a consortium that includes Wintershall
Holding AG, Geopark Holdings Limited, and Methanex Corporation.
Wintershall and GeoPark each own a 42% interest in the consortium
and Methanex owns 16%. The block was awarded under the Government
of Chile's international Bidding Round, which is comprised of ten
blocks in the Chilean Magellan basin in southern Chile where
Methanex's plant site is located. Exploration work is expected to
commence by the end of this year. The minimum exploration
investment committed in the block by the consortium is US$30
million.
Bruce Aitken, President and CEO of Methanex commented,
"Participating in the Otway Block represents another opportunity to
increase gas supply to our plants in Chile. We are very pleased to
have aligned ourselves with Wintershall and Geopark, companies that
have extensive experience in gas exploration and development in the
Southern Cone of South America."
Paul Schiodtz, Methanex's Senior Vice President, Latin America
added, "We are very pleased with this decision and we expect to
sign the corresponding Special Operation Contract (CEOP) with the
Chilean Government shortly. With our recent agreements with ENAP
for the Dorado Riquelme Block and GeoPark for the Fell Block, this
agreement is another step which aligns with our strategic objective
of accelerating and promoting natural gas development in southern
Chile."
GeoPark is a Latin American oil and gas producer and explorer
with properties in Argentina and Chile. It is the only private
sector oil and gas producer in Chile, and has been supplying
natural gas to Methanex in Chile since May 2006. GeoPark has shares
listed for trading on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of
the London Stock Exchange under the trading symbol "GPK". GeoPark
can be visited online at www.geo-park.com.
Wintershall, the oil and gas division of BASF SE of Germany, is
through its Argentine subsidiary Wintershall Energia SA, one of the
largest producers of natural gas in Argentina and one of the
important suppliers of gas to Methanex. Wintershall can be visited
online www.wintershall.com.
Methanex is a Vancouver-based, publicly traded company and is
the world's largest supplier of methanol to major international
markets. Methanex shares are listed for trading on the Toronto
Stock Exchange in Canada under the trading symbol "MX"; on the
NASDAQ Global Market in the United States under the trading symbol
"MEOH"; and on the Foreign Securities Market of the Santiago Stock
Exchange in Chile under the trading symbol "Methanex". Methanex can
be visited online at www.methanex.com.
Contacts: Jason Chesko Director, Investor Relations Methanex
Corporation 604 218 7556 Website: www.methanex.com
Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024