Gas Storage Announcement

24 Jul 2007 07:00

Egdon Resources PLC24 July 2007 Immediate release 24 July 2007 EGDON RESOURCES PLC Investigation of a site for a potential new gas storage facility in Northern Ireland Egdon Resources Plc ("Egdon"), the UK focused energy company, is pleased toannounce that a wholly-owned subsidiary, Portland Gas NI Limited ('PortlandGas') is being granted an exploration licence from The Crown Estate to evaluatethe suitability of a Permian salt sequence deep below Larne Lough, CountyAntrim, Northern Ireland to create caverns to store natural gas. In 1981 a borehole drilled close to the docks in Larne encountered a 113 metresthick sequence of Permian salt at a depth of 1688 meters. Portland Gas plans tocarry out a seismic survey during October 2007, with the contractor IMCGeophysics International Limited, to confirm the extent of the salt sequenceseen in the old borehole. Data will be acquired in the northern half of LarneLough using shallow-draft boats and on roads adjacent to the Lough by vibroseistrucks.The management of the project is being undertaken by the engineering andenvironmental consultancy RPS (Ireland), with technical support from DEEP.Underground Engineering GmbH and Geo International Limited. Commenting on the proposed new project, Andrew Hindle, Managing Director ofPortland Gas, said "The Northern Ireland gas market has been growingsignificantly over recent years and without access to local gas storagefacilities it could become vulnerable to supply disruptions. With no depletedgas fields in Northern Ireland, the creation of salt caverns offers the bestoption to store significant quantities of gas. There is a limited distributionof salt beds in the subsurface of Northern Ireland and we believe the Larneregion offers the most prospective area, provided that the distribution of thesalt is confirmed, following the seismic programme, and a suitable surface sitecan be secured. We will consult with stakeholders and local public groups overthe coming months to seek their views and advice. The announcement confirms ourcommitment to develop a portfolio of gas storage and infrastructure assets". For further information please contact: Egdon Resources PlcAndrew Hindle, Joint Managing Director 020 8332 1200Mark Abbott, Joint Managing Director 01256 702 292 Buchanan CommunicationsBen Willey 020 7466 5000 Seymour PierceJonathan Wright 020 7107 8000 Notes to Editors: Company Background Egdon is an established, UK-based energy company primarily focused on theonshore UK. Egdon also has exploration interests in the offshore UK and France.Egdon's shares are traded on the AIM market. The Company has developed two distinctive businesses: • An oil and gas exploration and production business which has a portfolio of twenty exploration licences containing identified oil and gas prospects ranging from discoveries under appraisal through to higher risk but higher reward "wild-cat" exploration prospects. • A gas storage business initially focused on the development of a major salt cavern gas storage facility on Portland, Dorset. Egdon plans to demerge the two businesses on or soon after 21 December 2007. Portland Gas NI Limited Portland Gas NI Limited, a Northern Ireland registered company, is one of agroup of companies owned by Portland Gas Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary ofEgdon Resources Plc. The Portland Gas group of companies, initially set up todevelop the Portland project in Dorset, will seek to make a significantcontribution to the UK's energy infrastructure and will seek to acquire anddevelop a portfolio of gas storage assets in the UK and internationally. Detailsof the group's activities can be found at the Portland Gas websitewww.portland-gas.com. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange