Share poser for Petrocorp

Press, 19 April 1980, Page 6

Share poser for Petrocorp

PA Wellington , The State-owned Petroi leum Corporation is still tryiing to decide how it can sell shares in the ! $l3O million Taranaki methanol plant — without losing control to Canada’s Alberta Gas Corporation. Petrocorp’s chairman (Mr F. Orr) said yesterday that Petrocorp would keep the dominant shareholding over Alberta Gas, the methanol’s scheme’s big overseas partner. Mr Orr said Petrocorp, which would hold a 51 per; cent shareholding in the l plant, was still working out ways of giving shares to i New Zealand private enter-1 prise. '

ri The chairman of Alberta •. Gas (Mr John Lo Porto) • said ■ that his firm was determined ■ ■ that it would sell none of its 1 ; 49 per cent share to New ''Zealand interests. ■i Mr Orr said Petrocorp ■ was working on a- scheme • which wduld enable New ' Zealand investors to buy r into the methanol scheme. U One proposal entailed the j setting up of a new = com- • pany 100 per cent owned by >;New Zealand private enter-1 - prise and the New Zealand i public. . . i I This company would own| ri the 51 per cent share in the; it methanol scheme. <Mr Orri : said. ' i “But as yet there's been ■ no final decision taken on I ‘the way we’ll go about it.”