KEY POINTS:
Contact Energy has agreed to sell land that lies over some of the geothermal resource in the Mokai region, north of Taupo.
Contact said it would receive $27.25 million for selling the land to Mighty River Power and the Tuaropaki Trust, as well as exchanging with Mighty River some rights in relation to natural gas development.
The small Mokai field was not a core part of Contact's geothermal investment strategy, which was primarily focused on developing geothermal resources at Te Mihi and Tauhara, Contact chief executive David Baldwin said.
A Contact development of the Mokai field would have required significant resources and arrangements with both Mighty River and Tuaropaki, whose interests in the Mokai field included a jointly owned 112-megawatt power station and connecting transmission line.
Mighty River and Tuaropaki, who were the adjacent landowners, were better placed to fully exploit the field's potential.
- NZPA
