According to a report in the West Australian, its parent company, Coogee Chemicals, owned by Perth businessman Gordon Martin, aims to retain 60% of Coogee Resources.

Based on these figures, Coogee Resources would have a market capitalisation of between $625 million and $750 million, not far behind companies such as Roc Oil and Beach Petroleum, and well ahead of firms such as Arc Energy and Tap Oil, making it one of the largest floats of the year.

The company’s eagerness to develop its 100%-owned Montara/Skua oil field comes on the back of two nearby oil discoveries, Swallow-1 and Swift-1, earlier this year.

Coogee said in March that these two oil fields were within tie-back distance to the Montara project, scheduled for first oil production in mid-2008.

Coogee production manager Jason Stepatschuk told delegates at the South-East Asia Australia Offshore Conference (SEAAOC) in June that the company was also considering producing methanol from stranded gas fields at its Timor Sea permits using a floating production, storage and offtake (FPSO) vessel.

According to Stepatschuk, the gas could be taken from the reservoir and processed on the FPSO without having to lay pipelines.

“Methanol is the least complex gas-to-liquids technology,” he said.

“Methanol is emerging as an energy source as well as a chemical raw material. At an oil price of $US50 per barrel, methanol can sell for $US160 per tonne ex-ship and be competitive with diesel.”