Vintage, Metgasco and Bridgeport are joint venture partners at the Vali field
The ACCC’s authorisation enables the parties to jointly market gas produced from the Vali field for five years. (Credit: Anita starzycka from Pixabay)
The ACCC has granted authorisation for Vintage Energy Ltd (ASX: VEN), Metgasco Ltd and Bridgeport (Cooper Basin) Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of New Hope Corporation Limited, to enter into joint gas marketing arrangements.
Vintage, Metgasco and Bridgeport are joint venture partners at the Vali field, a new gas field in the early stages of development, located in the Queensland Cooper/Eromanga Basin. None of the parties currently produce or sell natural gas.
The ACCC’s authorisation enables the parties to jointly market gas produced from the Vali field for five years and, within this period, to enter into gas supply agreements with customers on common terms and conditions (including price) for terms of up to 15 years. Without authorisation, these joint marketing arrangements would risk breaching competition laws.
“The ACCC considers that joint marketing is likely to result in public benefits by enabling earlier development of the Vali field to bring this new gas supply to the market sooner,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.
“Current estimates suggest the annual production from the Vali field will be approximately 0.5 per cent of the annual domestic gas demand in the east coast market. Given the small amount of gas relative to the size of the overall market, this proposed joint marketing is unlikely to adversely affect competition.”
Source: Company Press Release