Radio New Zealand yesterday broadcast an interview with Aitken, New Plymouth Mayor Peter Tennent and Taranaki Chamber of Commerce president John Rae about the future of the Methanex Motunui and Waitara Valley methanol plants and their importance to the regional and national economies.

This morning the country's largest daily newspaper, the Auckland-headquartered New Zealand Herald, published an account of the RNZ interview, including remarks by presenter Sean Plunket who said all 220 Methanex staff looked set to lose their jobs next year when the company's Maui gas offtakes finished. He also said Methanex was considering mothballing all three methanol trains for several years unless other gas supplies could be found.

Today Aitken rebutted suggestions that all his staff were likely to lose their jobs in 2004. "That's an extreme interpretation, nothing has changed in the past few weeks," he told EnergyReview.Net from Auckland.

"I spend my life trying to get more gas for New Zealand and to build a plant in Australia; I hope we will succeed with both," he said referring to Methanex Corporation's plans to build a two million-tonne methanol plant at the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia by 2005.

The Canadian corporation was working on a number of confidential initiatives aimed at prolonging the presence of Methanex in New Zealand while it determined its long-term strategy for the Asia-Pacific region.

"We have three or four opportunities sitting in front of us at present and I am optimistic at least one of these will result in more gas for our New Zealand plants. Then we will be able to achieve our goal of having some sustainable level of production in Taranaki for the next two to three years."

Aitken said there would be no New Zealand redundancies this year, but that 2004 would probably see the progressive laying off of some people. However, there would always be a certain level of staffing required, even for only one train.

However, he admitted that if all attempts to secure more gas failed then Methanex would consider mothballing the two trains at Motunui and the single train at the nearby Waitara Valley.

He said both sites were worth mothballing, not dismantling, because they could be restarted if Methanex secured more gas later this decade. He hoped Methanex would be successful getting more contractual gas for the sake of the staff, Taranaki and New Zealand.

Methanex NZ was this country's sixth largest exporter, earning about $NZ600 million per annum, and contributing about $NZ40 million each year to the Taranaki economy.

He reiterated earlier comments to ERN that he would like to renew the exclusive offtake contracts for McKee and Mangahewa gas, which expired towards the end of 2003. Methanex could also be very interested in gas from any new onshore Taranaki fields discovered in the next two to three years.