Final FEED Milestone & Additional Concept Studies

RNS Number : 4547J

Infrastrata PLC

05 December 2018

 

Prior to publication, the information contained within this announcement was deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ("MAR"). With the publication of this announcement, this information is now considered to be in the public domain.

5 December 2018

InfraStrata plc

("InfraStrata" or the "Company")

Islandmagee Gas Storage Project - Completion of Final Milestone and Additional Concept Studies

InfraStrata plc (AIM: INFA), the UK quoted company focused on the development of natural gas storage capacity, is pleased to provide an update on the final milestone for the FEED (Front End Engineering Design) of its Islandmagee gas storage project (the "Project").   Milestones 1 through to 16 have been completed on time and on budget and accordingly, the FEED report has now been submitted to the European Union in accordance with the Company's grant conditions.

The report will, in due course, be reviewed and audited by the European Union and other related parties to ensure it complies with all of the conditions appertaining to the grant.  It is likely that InfraStrata will receive its final payment from the EU in Q2 2019 after this verification process has been completed.

Milestone Progress

Milestone	Month	Description		Status
1	April	Contract Award Costain	InfraStrata	√ - Completed
2	May	Contract Award DEEP	InfraStrata	√ - Completed
3	May	Appointment of Subsurface Expert	InfraStrata	√ - Completed
4	May	Issue FEED schedule, project and quality plans	Costain	√ - Completed
5	May	Current Design Agreed	Costain	√ - Completed
6	June	Current Design Agreed	DEEP KBB	√ - Completed
7	June	Appoint Owners Engineer	InfraStrata	√ - Completed
8	July	Issue Process Flow Diagrams	Costain	√ - Completed
9	August	Gas & Leaching layout review	Costain	√ - Completed
10	August	All Process & Instrumentation Diagrams	Costain	√ - Completed
11	Oct.	Engineering Design Complete	Costain	√ - Completed
12	Oct.	All Investigation work on samples complete	DEEP KBB	√ - Completed
13	Oct.	Cavern Design & Rock Mechanics Complete	DEEP KBB	√ - Completed
14	Nov.	Surface FEED Deliverables & Estimates	Costain	√ - Completed
15	Nov.	Subsurface FEED Deliverables & Estimates	DEEP KBB	√ - Completed
16	Dec.	Submit FEED Report to EU	InfraStrata	√ - Completed

Completing this final milestone allows the team to concentrate on completing the negotiations that are underway with three potential equity providers that have provided the Company with term sheets for equity funding (at Project or subsidiary level).  The term sheets are not binding and at this stage it is not guaranteed that InfraStrata will enter into a binding equity agreement.  However, discussions are detailed and advanced and InfraStrata is still on track to provide a full update in Q4 2018 as previously stated.

Enabling works have been planned as the next phase of the Project, ahead of a final investment decision, and are scheduled to start in January 2019.

In addition, InfraStrata has engaged Costain to undertake a Concept Development Study to consider the technical implications of twinning the pipeline that runs between Northern Ireland and Scotland including the restrictions of connecting any new pipeline into the existing network and regulatory framework.  There are no guarantees that it will be possible to twin the interconnecting pipeline at this stage and further details will be provided when possible.

Further, Atkins has been engaged to further investigate and provide a Concept Development Study on developing additional caverns on Islandmagee, as previous advice received indicated that an additional 15 caverns could be possible on top of the 8 already planned.  However, there are no guarantees that it will be possible to develop any further caverns at this stage and further details will be provided when appropriate.

John Wood, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "It is testament to the team that we are building at InfraStrata that we have managed to deliver these milestones in a timely manner.  As we progress through to the end of 2018, we are working hard to close out the equity funding for the Project.  We are working through the process methodically to ensure we create maximum shareholder value.  We are working to ensure we hit the ground running in 2019 with many work streams in progress"

For further information, please contact:

InfraStrata plc John Wood, Chief Executive	c/o Yellow Jersey [phone]
Allenby Capital Limited (AIM Nominated Adviser & Joint Broker) Jeremy Porter / Liz Kirchner	[phone]
SI Capital Limited (Joint Broker) Nick Emerson	[phone]
Yellow Jersey Tim Thompson	[phone]

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

InfraStrata is an independent gas storage company focused on the UK and Ireland. Further information is available on the Company's website: www.infrastrataplc.com 

Background on the Islandmagee Storage Project

The Islandmagee gas storage project is a proposed salt cavern gas storage facility located on Islandmagee in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The Board of InfraStrata believes that the proposed 500 million cubic metres Natural Gas Cavern Storage facility will provide over 25% of the UK's Natural Gas Storage once constructed, and will be situated adjacent to the Scotland Northern Ireland (gas) Pipeline (SNIP) and the Moyle 500 Megawatt Electricity Interconnector. 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 2015 a well was drilled to core the salt and confirm the technical feasibility of the project, supported in part by the European Commission. The Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) element of the Project was completed in November 2018 and the FEED report was submitted to the European Union in December 2018 in accordance with the Company's grant conditions. . To date approximately £13.5m has been invested in the project.

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

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."

 

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