N Ireland Gas Storage FEED Completed
Northern Ireland gas storage project operator, InfraStrata, has marked a key stage in its Islandmagee gas storage project.
The AIM-listed firm said November 27 that work on the front end engineering design (FEED), begun in May 2018, has now been completed by the engineers and consultants - WSP (for the surface) and Atkins (for sub-surface) - ahead of schedule, with the final reports received by InfraStrata. They will be submitted to the EU in December 2018, which is needed if the firm is to stand any chance of getting EU funding.
The FEED studies say the best estimate of the project’s cost is £114mn ($146mn) for Phase 1 only (two caverns only) and £265mn (or $340mn) for both phases 1 and 2 (this would add an additional six caverns, resulting in a total of eight caverns, or a total of 0.45bn m3 working gas storage capacity) with an additional risk allowance of an aggregate total of £11.6m for both phases. The schedule has confirmed an expectation of injection of first gas for storage in 2022 with full operations (withdrawal and injection) expected in 1Q 2023 assuming the final investment decision is taken by June 2019.
The company said it continues to work with various potential partners in relation to providing funding for the project and updates will be provided as appropriate. Prospective investors will be aware that, because of Brexit, there is as yet no guarantee that Islandmagee – which would benefit the gas system on both sides of the inter-Irish border – would qualify for an EU grant towards its construction.
(The banner photo shows an artist's impression of how the Islandmagee storage facility would look, courtesy of InfraStrata. The company issued a similar statement on November 22 but five days later clarified it slightly)