The Melbourne-based firm has announced the signing of a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) with US firm Air Products & Chemicals Inc, which will see the two firms looking to push ahead with the development of the Tassie Shoal Methanol project.

The two firms will cooperate on all aspects of Tassie Shoal, from the technical and commercial to the financial, with a funding mechanism being provided by the JDA. The JDA, according to Methanol will provide “the financial structure necessary to raise the debt and equity funding for the project”.

In a statement, Methanol said, “The project will be jointly developed by Methanol Australia and Air Products, with the JDA providing a funding mechanism to take the project to financial close, based on successful completion of key project milestones.”

“Success in securing key gas supply and product off-take arrangements [will] allow the parties to proceed to front-end engineering and design work, planned to commence in late 2004,” added the company.