News blog

InfraStrata

• BY: Andrew Hore |
• POSTED: 25/03/2013 |

Gas storage and oil and gas explorer InfraStrata is increasingly focusing on its exploration activities in County Antrim and Devon but its cash pile fell sharply in the first half.

In the six months to January 2013, revenues fell from £156,000 to £13,000, while the reported loss fell from £1.18m to £867,000. The Portland project was no longer classed as a joint venture so all of the costs were recognised in the figures. However, the cash outflow increased from £185,000 to £1.11m. There was £812,000 in the bank at the end of January 2013. Management believes that this should last for 12 months.

BP has financed £1m of development spending on the Islandmagee gas storage site in Northern Ireland and the oil giant has the option to acquire 50.5%b of the project. The first appraisal well at the Islandmagee gas storage project will also be drilled within the next 12 months.

InfraStrata hopes to coordinate this well with one for the PL1/10 exploration licence in Antrim. The company has secured the finance for drilling this first exploration well on the PL1/10 licence, where InfraStrata owns 25%. It sold a 5% stake in the licence to Brigantes Energy for £150,000 and InfraStrata’s share of 5% of the costs of the well.

The first well on the P1918 Licence exploration project in Dorset should be drilled at the beginning of 2014.

The gas storage project at Portland is not commercially viable at the moment so the leases will be terminated on the break date on 1 June 2013.

At 13.38p a share, InfraStrata is valued at £12.2m.

Download the latest AIM Journal from http://www.hubinvest.com/AIMPDFMarch2013_42.pdf