A company bringing forward a major new proposal to develop an offshore gas field in Manx waters says it could be worth up to £4bn in tax revenue.
Marque Oil and Gas spoke to Manx.News after it sought a deferment of the Mooir Vannin offshore wind farm development.
The company is seeking to secure a licence to appraise the field, previously held by Crogga Ltd, which announced in February it would not proceed with extraction.
Marque argues this presents a “now-or-never” opportunity that it argued should be prioritised over wind turbine installation, in the short term at least.
Value
In its consultation response, Marque said the gas development could “generate considerably more revenue to the Isle of Man government and the citizens of the Isle of Man compared to the quoted value of £2bn for the wind farm over similar time frames”.
A company spokesperson told Manx.News it estimates the potential value to be “in the region of £4B tax revenue” to the island.
The spokesperson also confirmed the company has had some discussions with the government over its plans.
They said: “Discussions have focussed on the current political challenges to any appraisal programme – the need to defer the wind farm until after the gas field has been appraised to allow the opportunity for gas extraction for use in net zero carbon emissions electricity generation for the Isle of Man and capped gas prices as a means to cheaper energy for the Isle of Man whilst transitioning to a net zero energy market.”
The company also revealed it had held talks with Crogga when it held the licence, due to its interests in adjacent prospects in UK territorial waters and saw potential cost reductions by sharing costs.
Marque’s submission outlines a fast moving three-year appraisal timetable, targeting completion by 2031.
Acknowledging the challenging schedule, the company said it has a “fully developed appraisal and development plan”.
It added that collectively its management team have “over 100 years of experience in managing complex seismic and drilling programmes whilst working for BP and can cite a number of discovery-appraise-production programmes successfully completed in a similar time-frame”.
Infrastructure
The proposal hinges on using existing UK pipeline infrastructure, which is scheduled for closure in the 2030s
Marque warned that any delay risks losing the opportunity permanently, whereas deferring the wind farm would not necessarily cause equivalent lost revenue.
It said: “The infrastructure pipelines and processing facilities that are required to transport the gas from the Isle of Man currently have limited lifetimes.
“The two key facilities (owned by Spirit Energy) are both currently expected to close around 2030.
“The Morecambe Bay platform gas compression system has had a life extension into the 2030’s, and the Rampside processing facility at Barrow-in-Furness is currently expected to close operations around 2029/2030.
“Additional gas resources would enable the life of these facilities to be extended, but the information needed to make that decision will need t o be made as soon as possible.”
Net-Zero
The company said its plans align with the island’s net-zero targets by proposing the gas be used for electricity generation connected to carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.
Its submission claims this could provide “emission free electricity to the Isle of Man” and supply price-capped gas for local use during the transition to renewables.
The Council of Ministers is statutorily obliged to consider all consultation responses before making a final decision on the marine infrastructure consent for the Mooir Vannin wind farm.