Crogga has pulled out of the Isle of Man despite the governments “best efforts”.
Earlier this evening Crogga announced that it will be unable to take forward the project to extract gas from the field off the coast of the Isle of Man.
Government says it has worked positively with Crogga and engaged with the company at every stage.
It adds that while doing so it has been sure “to protect the interests of the Manx people and taxpayers”.
Crogga Pulls Plug
The Government released the following statment:
Despite the best efforts of the Isle of Man Government, Crogga Limited has determined that it is not able to agree to revised terms that would have enabled the Government to extend the company’s licence to explore for oil and gas in Manx waters.
The revised terms would have covered arrangements around compensation for other parties interested in utilising the Manx seabed.
As a result, the licence expires at 23:59 on 28 February 2025.
Licences are divided into two exploration phases:
– Phase B – 3D seismic survey and acquiring other geophysical data
– Phase C – exploratory drilling.
Crogga’s licence commenced on 1 January 2019 at Phase B, which required completion of a 3D seismic survey of the seabed by 31 December 2021.
Crogga has requested an extension to this deadline on five occasions, all of which have been granted. Despite this, in the six years since the licence commenced, Crogga has not undertaken the required 3D seismic survey.
Crogga had been seeking a variation to the licence so that it could undertake exploratory drilling before conducting the seismic survey. This had been under consideration, however in late 2024 Crogga withdrew the request, instead seeking another extension to the deadline to complete its seismic survey.
Throughout the process, the Isle of Man Government has worked positively with Crogga, engaging with the company at every stage, while also being sure to protect the interests of the Manx people and taxpayers.
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