Gas firm EnergyPathways (AIM:EPP) has made an “out of round” bid for gas production and storage licences in the Irish Sea as it reports progress on its Marram project.
In a market statement, the AIM-listed firm said it submitted the request for gas production licences for the “ready for development” Knox and Lowry fields to the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA).
It admitted it had been outbid on a previous application made in the recent 33rd licensing round.
The company said the new fields were a better bet than the lost Castletown discovery as they required “significantly lower levels of pre-development investment”.
The West Sussex-based energy company is primarily focused on developing the Marram offshore gas project.
The request to the regulator also included gas storage licences for the Marram, Knox and Lowry fields.
Talks with customers and funders
In its update, it said it was in negotiations with a potential customer for all the gas produced from the Marram Field. It added the board was “optimistic” of seeking expressions of interest in relation to foundation storage contracts.
EnergyPathways is also in discussion on funding sources, including debt financing options for Marram and the acquisition of regional energy infrastructure assets.
It has also received “expressions of partnership interest” from energy sector companies which would help it with further development financing.
Electrified
The firm, which was formed in a reverse takeover last year, added it was looking to take a “fully-electrified development approach” to the gas and storage project.
It is “working to establish” an alliance with contractors to design an electrified wellhead control system connected to renewable power sources and battery storage. Its assessment is also considering electrically-powered gas compression solutions for Marram gas production and future gas storage use.
CEO Ben Clube said the firm was in a “very active period” as it progresses Marram to provide “critical gas supply and storage infrastructure for the UK”.
He added: “Good progress has also been made in developing our vision of an expanded UK Irish Sea energy storage project, and with the conclusion of the UK 33rd licensing round, it is expected the NSTA will shortly start the evaluation of ‘out of round’ licence requests including our gas production and gas storage licence requests.
“Like Marram, the Knox and Lowry licence requests are also ‘ready for development’ meaning they will not require appraisal drilling and would therefore likely require significantly lower levels of pre-development investment than Castletown would have required.
“The engineering studies for the initial development of Marram gas and energy storage project and the wider energy storage project concept are progressing well and we are encouraged by the nature of the ongoing discussions with all relevant stakeholders as we seek to bring the Marram Project into production and then give life to the energy storage project concept that we believe will support all the key elements of UK energy policy.”