This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
NATURAL gas producer QGC is furthering the sell down of its rural portfolio, offering a large-scale backgrounding and finishing aggregation on Queensland’s Western Downs.
It comes as QGC – formerly Queensland Gas Co, and now owned by Royal Dutch Shell – netting about $20 million from the sale of five grazing and cropping properties spanning 11,479 hectares in the Dalby and Chinchilla districts on the Darling Downs, and all had been leased to Stanbroke Pastoral Co.
QGC has collected more than 80 properties over the past decade, and its gas assets on them have now matured.
Minjara, Old Marmadua, Duck Ponds, Waterside and Brentleigh were sold to three separate buyers. Each has established coal seam gas infrastructure, providing ongoing passive income payments under existing conduct and compensation agreements.
Minjara and Old Marmadua – spanning nearly 7,000 hectares combined – were picked up by Roma-based YLE Grazing for $4.8 million. Minjara makes up the bulk of the holding and is a timbered grazing property with a mix of open and timbered grazing suited to cattle, sheep or goat production. Old Marmadua is mostly open to timbered buffel grass grazing country with quality brigalow soils in its northern part.
Duck Ponds fetched the biggest price tag, selling for $9.5 million to TAJ Investments. Just under half of the 1,690 hectare mixed farming property is under cultivation, with the balance mixed grazing.
Also selling were neighbouring grazing properties Waterside and Brentleigh, to Alli Rose Dougall from Netherby for $5.83 million. Waterside is 2,395 hectares and features a mix of brigalow and belah melonhole country to lighter and sandy loams areas along the Wambo Creek, while the 427-hectare Brentleigh has CatX (white) RVM and good stock water and boundary fencing.
Now, QGC has put Ewingsdale, Lucky Downs and Greenacres to the market. They span 15,522 hectares and can carry up to 5,500 adult equivalents. They are being offered separately through Knight Frank Agribusiness and Colliers Agribusiness via offers to purchase closing 21st July.
These properties have also been leased to Stanbroke Pastoral Co and offer established coal seam gas infrastructure.
Each has undulating brigalow and belah softwood scrub and are watered by multiple bores, dams and seasonal holes in creeks. Ewingsdale covers 5,178 hectares, Lucky Downs is the largest at 5,636 hectares, and Greenacres is 4,707 hectares.
Knight Frank Agribusiness and Colliers Agribusiness also sold the Darling Downs properties.
