Friday 11 January 2013

Metgasco Limited's share price begins 2013 in free fall


Coal seam gas exploration and production company Metgasco Limited’s unwanted intrusion into the NSW Northern Rivers region sees its ordinary share price, as traded on the Australian Stock Exchange, continue its decline…..


As of close of trading 9 January 2013 – two day after it took sixty police to escort Metgasco’s drilling rig onto PEL 426 in the Clarence Valley at Glenugie - the ordinary share price has again fallen to 16c. The share price remained the same on 10 January.

On 13 December 2012 the Northern Rivers Echo reported that; Metgasco's shares plummeted to an all-time low of 15.5 cents this week.

In August 2012 Ethical Investments Limited confirmed the reasons for divesting itself of exposure to the coal seam gas sector:

While there is extensive knowledge around the structure and formation of coal seams, there remains uncertainty about the permeability and interconnectedness of coal seams and groundwater resources. CSG critics point to concerns that extracting large volumes of water from a coal seam may result in pressure differentials with surrounding water-bearing seams, resulting in potential drops in water levels and contamination of aquifers.
Australian Ethical’s Chief Investment Officer, David Macri says "meetings with CSIRO reassured us that our analysis and understanding of the issues was on the mark, but also confirmed our concerns about the long-term impacts of large-scale water extraction on the Great Artesian Basin."
With negative impacts that are potentially irreversible, or at least would take lifetimes to reverse, we are concerned about any company’s capacity to appropriately manage this risk. Origin Energy was divested in late 2011, thus ending our exposure to the CSG sector. [my bolding]

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