INFA.L Regulatory News (INFA)

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.

29 January 2019

InfraStrata plc

("InfraStrata" or the "Company")

Islandmagee Gas Storage Project - EU Funding Update

InfraStrata plc (AIM: INFA), the UK quoted company focused on the development of natural gas storage capacity, provides an update on the "grant for works" application in respect of its Islandmagee gas storage project (the "Project") to the EU (European Union) pursuant to the requirements of the Connecting Europe Facility grant reference: "CEFEnergy-2018-2", further to the Company's announcement on 15 October 2018.

InfraStrata has been made aware that it has been unsuccessful in its request for financial assistance under the second CEF Energy Call for proposals 2018 and a full list of projects that have been successful are now available online.

The initial application was submitted in a tight timescale and since the original submission InfraStrata has been working to refine its application and strengthen certain aspects. InfraStrata has also been informed that a further invitation for applications for the next round of funding will be received by the Company around March 2019 and the Company plans to resubmit its enhanced application at this time.

In all discussions with all potential offtake, equity, debt and EPC partners, InfraStrata has never assumed any assistance from the European Union in relation to a "grant for works" funding application, and negotiations and due diligence continue at pace. In any agreement that is reached with potential partners InfraStrata will look to preserve the potential upside of EU funding for the Company as it moves forward.

The Company's existing EU grant for FEED ("Front End Engineering Design") works for the Project is unaffected by the "grant for works" application and this decision. As announced on 5 December 2018, the FEED report has been submitted to the European Union in accordance with the Company's grant conditions and is in the process of being reviewed and audited. It is likely that InfraStrata will receive its final payment from the EU in Q2 2019 after this verification process has been completed.

John Wood, Chief Executive Officer, commented: 

"When submitting the EU "grant for works" application we were aware that we were working against a tight timeframe in the cycle for raising the profile of our Islandmagee gas storage project with the relevant decision makers. However, since the original submission we have continued to progress our case and are very well placed to resubmit our application in the next funding round. We continue to make progress on all fronts with the Project and the fact that our conversations are not conditional on any further EU assistance bodes well for the future."

For further information, please contact:

-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. The facility 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.infrastrataplc.com

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."