Chairman Graham Lyon30 Jan 2018 17:15
It is a privilege to serve as Chairman of InfraStrata plc (the "Company"). Since joining our Chief Executive, Adrian Pocock, on the Company's board of directors (the "Board") we have established a very pro-active Board with the addition of Matt Beardmore and Karen Campbell as non-executive directors.
The four of us are committed to taking the Company forwards and completing the necessary actions to commence the construction of the Islandmagee gas storage project in County Antrim, Northern Ireland (the "Project"). I must thank the previous Board for establishing the groundwork for the Project and a smooth handover to the new team. I would also thank all those involved in maintaining the very positive local support we retain in Northern Ireland. More importantly I must thank our Shareholders for their patience. We now must take this Company forward. We look forward rather than back, although by necessity the accounts reported today show activities before the new Board was appointed.
There is an indisputable need for the Project. The fundamentals of energy security and supply for the island of Ireland are in no doubt and we believe that Islandmagee can be the central energy hub providing the energy resource to help 'keep the lights on' in the foreseeable future. The announced decommissioning of the Rough gas storage facility in the UK, which has provided the majority of the country's gas storage capacity over recent years, has emphasised the UK's lack of natural gas storage. In due course, once constructed, this will be partially offset by Islandmagee. The unfortunate fire at Baumgarten in Austria during December 2017 highlighted the delicate supply and demand balance of gas resource throughout Europe. Gas prices spiked considerably and states of energy emergencies were announced. Islandmagee will therefore not only provide Shareholders with a return on their investment but also importantly to provide security of energy supply to the island of Ireland and the UK.
This fact was recognised and reaffirmed by the European Union confirming the extension of the EU Grant, originally set to expire in December 2017, for an additional year until December 2018, together with the renewal of our status as a Project of Common Interest (PCI).
The EU Grant provides 50%, up to a maximum of �4.024m, of the costs associated with the Front End Engineering & Design ("FEED") for Islandmagee. Utilisation of the EU Grant is subject to the Company obtaining matched funding from other sources. The Board is therefore focused on establishing this match funding. Under the terms of the EU Grant, certain activity milestones are required to be met, including completion of the FEED engineering report by 28 September 2018 and completion of the FEED by 20 December 2018.
In December 2017, we were pleased to announce that our wholly-owned subsidiary, InfraStrata UK Limited acquired the remaini
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