Baron Oil option revision and planned divestment

RNS Number : 8413K

Infrastrata PLC

26 September 2016

 

Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement that contains inside information according to REGULATION (EU) No 596/2014 (MAR).

26 September 2016                                                                 

InfraStrata plc

("InfraStrata" or the "Company")

Revision to Baron Oil option and planned divestment of remaining exploration assets

InfraStrata plc (AIM:INFA), announces that it has agreed to a modification of the option held by Baron Oil Plc ("Baron") to acquire equity in Islandmagee Storage Limited ("IMSL"), the gas storage development company owned 90% by the Company.

On 19 August 2016, the Company announced that it had repaid a loan from Baron and had amended the option which accompanied the loan from Baron, so that Baron had an option to acquire a 15% interest in IMSL for a payment of £1,536,498 until 31 March 2017. This option has been revised, so that Baron now has an option to acquire the number of ordinary shares of 1p in InfraStrata that represents 16.666% of the enlarged ordinary share capital of InfraStrata (from time to time) for a payment of £1,536,498, until 31 March 2017. Exercise of the option in full is conditional on InfraStrata having the requisite authorities under the Companies Act 2006 to issue new ordinary shares in the Company, which will be sought at the Company's next general meeting of shareholders (or earlier if required).

This is part of an ongoing programme of re-structuring of the Company, as it seeks to focus entirely on the Islandmagee gas storage project. This also follows the Company's announcement on 13 September 2016 that it had increased its interest in IMSL to 90%.

The Directors of InfraStrata have also decided to divest the Company's remaining oil and gas exploration interests and intend to commence a process to achieve this shortly.

Following these changes, InfraStrata will also seek a re-classification of the Company's sector classification. It is proposed to reclassify the Company to the Utility sector 7573 Gas Distribution. If the Industry Classification Benchmark approves this re-classification, then the change is anticipated to be implemented in December 2016.

Commenting, Andrew Hindle, CEO of InfraStrata said:

"The amendment to Baron's option and the other proposals announced today are important aspects of InfraStrata's transition to the only AIM-quoted company entirely focused on gas storage and we will be reviewing our management and technical requirements to ensure that all resources will be entirely dedicated to development of the project."

The Front End Engineering & Design (FEED) and Insitu Downhole Testing programme for the Islandmagee gas storage project is co-financed by the European Union's Connecting Europe Facility.

Disclaimer releasing the European Union from any liability in terms of the content of the dissemination materials:

"The sole responsibility of this publication lies with the author. The European Union is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein."

For further information please contact:

InfraStrata plc

Andrew Hindle, Chief Executive Officer                                                                    020 8332 1200

Stewart McGarrity, Finance Director

Nominated Adviser and Broker - Allenby Capital Limited

Jeremy Porter / Alex Brearley / Liz Kirchner                                                           020 3328 5656

Financial PR - Camarco

Billy Clegg / Gordon Poole                                                                                      020 3757 4980

Notes to Editors:

Background on InfraStrata plc

InfraStrata is an independent petroleum exploration and gas storage company focused on Northern Ireland.

Further information is available on the Company's website www.infrastrata.co.uk.

Background on the Islandmagee Storage Project

The Islandmagee gas storage project company, Islandmagee Storage Limited ("IMSL"), is owned 90% by a wholly owned subsidiary of InfraStrata plc and 10% by a wholly owned subsidiary of Mutual Energy Limited. The project is a proposed salt cavern gas storage facility located on Islandmagee in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Work commenced in 2007 with the acquisition of 3D seismic data to image the Permian salt in the Larne Lough area. During 2012, planning permission was granted for the project and a gas storage licence was issued by the Utility Regulator. In October 2013, the gas storage project was granted a 'Project of Common Interest' ("PCI") status by the European Commission. In 2015 a well was drilled to core the salt and confirm the technical feasibility of the project, supported in part by the Commission. The final stage before a Final Investment Decision will be the Front-End Engineering Design and Commercialisation of the project, planned to be completed by end 2017.   

Further information is available on the project company's website www.islandmageestorage.com.  

 

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