IGas Energy

Former UK prime minister David Cameron visiting IGas UK operations in 2014

IGas Energy Ltd is Britain's largest independent oil and gas explorer and developer, with licences to explore for oil and gas across the country including the North West, East Midlands, the Weald Basin in southern England and the northern coastal area of the Inner Moray Firth in Scotland.

In May 2014 IGas negotiated a deal to buy rival producer Dart Energy, which holds licences to produce gas from coal seams in Scotland. The deal, worth £120 million, makes IGas the UK's biggest shale gas explorer with more than a million acres under licence.

IGas is owned by its founding executives, investment funds and the Beijing-based China National Offshore Oil Corporation Ltd (CNOOC), which holds nearly 20 per cent.

In March 2015 IGas agreed a deal with chemicals giant Ineos to sell it a 50 per cent interest in seven of IGas’ shale gas licences in the North West along with the option to acquire a 20 per cent interest in two further IGas licences in the East Midlands. The deal is worth £30 million in cash and a further £138 million commitment to fund a two-phase work programme to develop the sites.

This article is part of the Spinwatch Fracking Portal and project

On 27 September 2016, an application by IGas to drill two exploratory shale gas wells at Springs Road, Misson in Nottinhamshire was recommended for approval by planning officials of Nottinghamshire County Council. A final decision was due to be made on 5 October by the council's planning committee but was deferred to November 2016 following a last minute, albeit unsuccessful intervention by Friends of the Earth's lawyers. On 15 November the council approved the Igas application.

Shale gas a 'game-changer' for Britain

IGas believes shale is a 'game-changer', and argues that it can be 'extracted cleanly and safely'.

Chief executive Andrew Austin has his eyes on what he calls 'a very big prize' - whereby in the 'best-case scenario' up to 10 per cent of the UK's gas supply for the next decade could come from shale gas produced in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. IGas already produces conventional oil and gas in the area, and hopes to develop up to 15 fracking sites over that period.

Activities

IGas London office, 7 Down Street

IGas produces approximately 3,000 barrels of oil and gas a day from over 110 sites across the country. Primary production areas are in the East Midlands (Welton and Gainsborough), Cheshire, Flintshire and Staffordshire, as well as in the Weald Basin in southern England.

In the year to 31 March 2013, IGas produced over 901,000 barrels and achieved £68.3 million in revenue.

IGas estimates that within its own licence area, covering 300 square miles between Manchester and Liverpool, there is likely to be in the region of 102 Tcf of gas in place (midcase).Britain’s total gas use currently runs at 3 Tcf a year.

Coal Bed Methane (CBM) pilot

IGas started commercial sales of electricity generated from CBM in 2009. According to the IGas website:

The Doe Green pilot Coal Bed Methane (“CBM”) site continues to produce gas and generate electricity. All three production wells, each of which is testing a separate seam, demonstrate that gas is flowing from the seams.

Criticism

In February 2014 Barbara Keeley, UK Labour MP for Worsley and Eccles South described IGas's potential fracking site at Barton Moss in Salford, Greater Manchester as 'manifestly unsuitable', with drilling there causing 'absolutely huge inconvenience' to residents and businesses. She also described the process of 'fracking' - exploring below the surface for possible shale gas reserves - as "controversial and untested".

Keeley, in an interview with Govtoday, insisted the scheme should "never have been brought into that part" of the region, adding: "If you think that there are meant to trillions of cubic metres of shale gas said to be in the north west, why start in an urban area with very poor access?"

Licences

• IGas has a petroleum exploration and development licence (PEDL) for the Gainsborough area, but has yet to drill any wells or apply for permission to start fracking in the East Midlands.

• East Midlands – PEDL 139/140: In 2014 IGas signed a farm-out agreement with Total E&P UK Limited (“Total”), under which Total acquired a 40 per cent interest in the 139/140 Licences. Total will fund a fully carried work programme of up to US$46.5m, with a minimum commitment of US$19.5m. IGas was appointed operator on the Licences with an increase in equity interest to 14.5 per cent.

• North West: IGas has seven onshore licences, located in the counties of Cheshire, Flintshire and Staffordshire, that contain the Carboniferous Coal Measures and Bowland-Hodder shales. The total area under licence in this region is 1,020km2 (approximately 252 k.acres), where it owns 100% working interest in all licences. Drilling of an exploration well at Barton Moss near Manchester began in November 2013 and was completed in March 2014 and on budget. IGas says that:

The well is now suspended and 'full laboratory analyses of the cores is underway the results of which are expected in the late Autumn (2014). The results from the core analyses together with thewireline log data will be integrated and utilised to determine the next steps in the appraisal process. The core data will be very beneficial in understanding the geomechanical aspects of the shales and this will help provide key data to optimise the design of any future programme involving hydraulic fracturing of the Bowland Shale.

People

• Andrew Austin - CEO. A founder of IGas, has been executive director since 2004 and the chief executive officer for the last five years with full time responsibility for the day to day operations and business development. Holds a 5.41% shareholding in IGas.
• Stephen Bowler chief financial officer. Steve started his career at Touche Ross, now Deloitte, where he qualified as a chartered accountant.
• John Blaymires chief operating officer. John has 29 years of international experience in the oil and gas industry gained at Hess Corporation and Shell International.
• Ann-marie Wilkinson - head of communications

Board

• Francis Gugen - Non-executive chairman. Francis is a founder and non-executive chairman with over 30 years of oil and gas industry experience. Holds a 13.4% shareholding in IGas
• Robin Pinchbeck - appointed non-executive director July 2012. Pinchbeck began his career at BP where he held various management roles over two decades. He was CEO of operations services and then group director of strategy at Petrofac.
• John Bryant - Senior Independent Non-Executive Director. John is the Chairman of AIM listed Weatherley International plc, and a board member of AIM listed China Africa Resources Plc.
• Cuth McDowell - non-executive director and chair of the Audit Committee appointed December 2012. Has 33 years of international experience in the oil and gas sector, having held a range of leadership positions in Exploration and Production.

Company directors

• John Blaymires, director, 19 Oct 2010-
• Andrew Austin, director, 27 Dec 2007-
• John Bryant, director, 5 May 2004-
• FRANCIS ROBERT GUGEN, director, 27 Dec 2007-
• STEPHEN DAVID BOWLER, director, 1 Nov 2011-
• ROBIN HUNTER PINCHBECK, director, 11 Jul 2012-
• inactive JOHN GREER BUTLER, secretary, 14 Jan

Affiliations

• Associate Parliamentary Group for Energy Studies
• All-Party Parliamentary Group on Unconventional Oil and Gas, associate member. Gave a contribution of £3000 from Igas Energy PLC (registered May 2014).
• According to the Salford Star in February 2014, 'Peel Holdings, or the Peel Group, not only own Barton Moss Road but all the fields surrounding it, including the iGas drilling site, and Barton Airport where the police are based during operations, drawing rent off all of them. It now appears that the company... is preparing to evict anti-fracking campaigners.
• Member of D Group

Lobbying firms

• Lexington Communications provided UK public affairs consultancy services to 'Island Gas' from 2011- August 2014.
• MHP Communications currently provides UK public affairs consultancy services to IGas Energy - Rupert Trefgarne, Andrew Leach and Barnaby Fry
• Bellenden Public Affairs
• Kreab Gavin Anderson provided UK public affairs consultancy services to IGas Energy from June 2011 until May 2013.

Subsidiaries and acquisitions

• On 28 February 2013, the Company completed the acquisition of PR Singleton from Providence Resources plc
• December 2013: Acquisition of Caithness from Caithness Petroleum plc for £7.9m (including assumed borrowings and closing adjustments) which was financed by issuing 7,488,301 Ordinary Shares.
• Acquisition in 2011 of Star Energy and equity fundraising of £20.6m.
• Signed an agreement with Nexen Petroleum UK Limited to acquire Nexen Exploration UK Limited, making our Group the operator and sole owner of all our licences.

• Island Gas Limited Exploration for and evaluation, production and marketing of oil and gas
• Island Gas (Singleton) Limited Production and marketing of oil and gas
• Island Gas Operations Limited Electricity Generation
• IGas Energy (Caithness) Limited Production and marketing of oil and gas
• IGas Exploration UK Limited Production and marketing of gas
• Star Energy Group Limited Service Company
• Star Energy Limited Service Company
• Star Energy Weald Basin Limited Processing of oil and gas
• Star Energy Oil and Gas Limited Service Company
• Star Energy (East Midlands) Limited Dormant
• Star Energy Oil UK Limited Dormant

Financials

• Barclays, banker
• Ernst & Young, auditor
• MoFo Secretaries Limited, Company Secretary
• NOMAD and Joint Broker Jefferies Hoare Govett, Nominated Adviser and Broker
• Computershare Investor Services plc, Registrar
• Macquarie Bank Ltd
• Norsk Tillitsmann

Contact

Address: 7 Down Street,

London,

W1J 7AJ

Telegraph: +44 (0) 207 993 9899

E-mail: enquiries@igasplc.com

Website: http://www.igasplc.com/

Resources

See: Fracking lobbying firms

• Melissa Jones and Andy Rowell, Access all areas: Westminster's (vast) fracking lobby exposed, 29 April 2015.
• Gas chief Andrew Austin: Fracking in East Midlands could provide 'big prize', BBC News, 7 April 2014, acc 16 April 2014