“It was really a very close thing for NGC – that AGL loan was really the difference between survival and failure,” James told EnergyReview.Net before returning to AGL and Sydney.

“I rate seeing confidence grow within the company and with shareholders, customers and suppliers as my most memorable experience.”

Tidying up NGC after that NZ$134 million loan, which NGC had since repaid, was pretty straightforward stuff – cleaning up the balance sheet, exiting non-profitable businesses and improving successful ones.

“After three years of redevelopment, switching back to core purposes, NGC is now a very good gas company and part of the significant renewal we see happening in a New Zealand energy industry confronted with the demise of Maui.”

NGC was pleased to have led other downstream players upstream through its arrangement with Kahili operator Austral Pacific Energy and partners, even though that small onshore Taranaki gas-condensate was currently shut-in only months after opening.

But NGC was not planning any more upstream involvement, he said. The Kapuni field should last another 10 years or so and NGC was entitled to 50% of Kapuni production, plus NGC had agreed to purchase a significant parcel of Pohokura gas from Shell from mid-2006.

Despite increased exploration levels in New Zeland and added royalty incentives for new gas, James warned that “we only have 18 months or so to make significant discoveries or we will have to much more strongly consider alternatives like LNG, imported CNG or coal’.

There were some “pretty healthy indicators” that New Zealand would discover sufficient gas to replace Maui but no guarantees.

James – who headed NGC as an AGL secondee – returns to Australia as AGL’s retail energy group general manager. Former Vector executive Bryan Crawford has officially taken over the reins now that Vector has completed its purchase of AGL’s 66.05% interest in NGC.