Business Don't miss out on the headlines from Business. Followed categories will be added to My News. Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting plans to supply gas to the market as soon as possible after striking a $1.
13bn deal to buy assets in the Perth Basin from embattled rival Mineral Resources . The deal takes some of the financial heat off MinRes and its managing director Chris Ellison amid a tax evasion scandal and question marks over the strength of the company’s balance sheet. The buyout was announced as MinRes revealed it had cut 570 jobs across over the past four months as it tries to manage the rout in the lithium sector and transition its iron ore operations.
Mrs Rinehart said she welcomed the opportunity to work alongside “my friend Chris Ellison and his MinRes team”. “Gas is critical to underpin base load power requirements and support local industry with the provision of reliable energy,” she said. It comes after The Australian’s DataRoom column first revealed the sale of Mineral Resources energy business, in a move later confirmed by the company and that Mrs Rinehart was among the frontrunners to buy the operations.
Hancock Prospecting will pay $803m up front for the Lockyer/ North Erregulla project that is the most prized of the MinRes oil and gas assets in the Perth Basin, and another $327m if certain performance targets are hit. The deal sees Hancock Prospecting take a 50 per cent share in MinRes’ remaining Perth Basin and Carnarvon Basin permits.