Major sale boosts gas turnover

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WELLINGTON - Natural Gas Corporation has struck a major natural gas supply agreement with Genesis Power to supply gas to the Huntly and Te Awamutu power stations..

NGC will supply a total of about 90 petajoules of gas to Genesis in varying annual amounts over the next eight years.

NGC at present sells about 35 petajoules of natural gas a year.

NGC chief executive Richard Bentley is up-beat about the deal.

"The supply agreement with Genesis is a major accomplishment for NGC in a very competitive gas supply market and has significant benefits for the company," he said.

The significant size of the gas sale contract would allow the company earlier access to various Maui gas assets and entitlements secured under contracts with the Crown.

Mr Bentley also announced that NGC had acquired full ownership of the liquid petroleum gas niche marketing company Propane Gas following a buy-out of its 50 per cent co-venturer, French company Elf Antargaz, for $4.5 million.

He said this initiative further consolidated NGC's LPG interests, which included production and sale of LPG from its Kapuni gas treatment plant, a wholesaling activity based on the recently acquired BP service station forecourt LPG business, and a 60.25 per cent interest in Liquigas.

NGC trades about 70,000 tonnes of LPG annually.

The Propane Gas company continues to develop niche markets for bottled propane in the commercial, industrial and domestic sectors.

- NZPA