UK Angus secures loan for Saltfleetby

AIM-listed Angus Energy has provisionally signed a loan agreement with Mercuria Energy Trading and Aleph Saltfleetby conditional on the upstream regulator's approval of the UK onshore Saltfleetby field development plan, it said May 13. An earlier memorandum of understanding with lender Aleph did not include Mercuria.

Approval is expected after the initial drawdown under the facility and first gas is expected in Q4 2021, meaning it will capture relatively high prices from the remaining gas in the field, Angus said.

Angus CEO George Lucan said financial support from Aleph and Mercuria would "unlock the substantial shareholder value of the Saltfleetby gasfield as well as provide financial, commercial and technical support for Angus’s energy transition plans. Attaching this calibre of funders demonstrates the quality of the Saltfleetby asset and further validates the strategic direction of the board. I look forward to continuing to work closely with our new funders as we develop this field and our other projects."

The company can now drill the third production well at Saltfleetby before reconnecting the two existing gas wells. "This will allow us to begin with the daily plateau production of 10 mn ft³ once the processing facilities have been commissioned," it said.

Saltfleetby is a nearly depleted field that has potential to be used as a storage facility for natural gas and other gases.

Angus is also eyeing geothermal projects in the southwest and "evaluating other acquisitions and renewable opportunities with our new funding partners and investors.”