InfraStrata plc (AIM:INFA), the independent gas storage and petroleum exploration company, is pleased to provide an update on its plans at Portland on the south coast of the UK.

On 6 June 2012 the Company announced that an agreement had been reached with Portland Port Limited to modify the existing leases at its substantial Portland site. These modifications include permission for a wider range of uses of the land, such as the generation and export of electricity, carbon capture & storage, and salt production. The Company has been reviewing a range of options which build on synergies with the Port, together with, the engineering, environmental and consenting work undertaken to date.

The unique combination of thick Triassic salt strata present below the Portland area, and access to Port facilities, provides an attractive opportunity to establish the production and export of salt as an initial business.

The Company plans to construct salt cavern creation infrastructure and to monetise salt extracted from the brine produced by solution mining. A typical production plant could be capable of processing one million tonnes of salt per annum at Portland. Current UK salt production is approximately six million tonnes, primarily from Triassic salt sequences in Cheshire and Northern Ireland. The salt would be available from Portland Port to UK and International markets.

The Company is evaluating the use of biomass boilers to provide the heat necessary to evaporate the water from the brine. Biomass is a renewable, low carbon fuel and could be imported through Portland Port and the Government is offering incentives to use biomass through the new Renewable Heat Incentive.

Commenting on the salt production opportunity at Portland, Andrew Hindle, CEO of InfraStrata plc said:

“In the light of the overall potential at Portland, a salt production project would bring forward infrastructure investment and mark an important step for the Company.

Building on the considerable work undertaken by the team over a number of years on evaluating the salt sequence and designing cavern creation facilities at Portland, the Company anticipates securing the necessary funding at the project level this autumn to undertake engineering work to optimise the design and sizing of the project as well as obtaining the necessary project consents. We will then be in a position to move to construction as soon as possible.”

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InfraStrata plc (AIM:INFA), the independent gas storage and petroleum exploration company, has been informed by Brigantes Energy Limited (“Brigantes”) and Corfe Energy Limited ("Corfe"), both companies of which InfraStrata is a shareholder, that each has raised funds through a placing of shares.

Brigantes has placed 1,500,000 new Ordinary Shares at 50p per share to raise £750,000. Following the placing, Brigantes will have 7,500,000 Ordinary Shares in issue. The Placing Shares will represent 20 per cent. of Brigantes’s Enlarged Share Capital. InfraStrata, which holds 3,000,000 Ordinary Shares did not participate in the placing and following the placing holds 40 per cent. of the enlarged share capital.

Corfe has placed 1,500,000 new Ordinary Shares at 50p per share to raise £750,000. Following the placing, Corfe will have 7,500,000 Ordinary Shares in issue. The Placing Shares will represent 20 per cent. of Corfe’s Enlarged Share Capital. InfraStrata, which holds 3,000,000 Ordinary Shares did not participate in the placing and following the placing holds 40 per cent. of the enlarged share capital.

Commenting on the placings by Brigantes and Corfe, Andrew Hindle, CEO of InfraStrata plc said:

“The primary assets of Brigantes and Corfe are exploration interests in Northern Ireland and Dorset where InfraStrata is also a joint venture partner. We are delighted that both companies have secured funds to support these projects as they move towards the drilling phase.”

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InfraStrata plc (AIM:INFA), the independent gas storage and petroleum exploration company, is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, Portland Gas Storage Limited (“PGSL”), has submitted an application in a competition of the Department of Energy and Climate Change (“DECC”). DECC is to invest up to £20 million in the development and demonstration of technologies and feasibility studies associated with carbon capture and storage (“CCS”). The competition forms part of DECC’s £125 million R&D and Innovation Programme for 2011-15. The results of the competition will be known at the end of August 2012.

Commenting on the application, Andrew Hindle, CEO of InfraStrata plc said:

“PGSL has been reviewing the potential for adding a CCS element to the Portland Project.

If successful the R&D project would include the drilling of a new borehole, creation of a mini-cavern and the undertaking of a range of tests. Salt caverns have been used for the past 50 years for the storage on a day-to-day and seasonal basis for a wide range of liquids and gases including natural gas, propylene, ethylene, propane, hydrogen and crude oil. It is anticipated that salt caverns would be suitable for the permanent storage of CO₂ to support the decarbonisation of energy production in the UK.”

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InfraStrata plc (AIM:INFA), the independent gas storage and petroleum exploration company, is pleased to announce that Tesla Exploration International Limited (“Tesla”) has completed the Vibroseis seismic programme, as planned, within the Company’s operated petroleum exploration licence PL1/10 in Northern Ireland.

Over the last three weeks, a total of 111 kilometres of 2D seismic data have been acquired in County Antrim along a series of 12 individual lines traversing Newtownabbey, Carrickfergus and Larne within the Larne-Lough Neagh Sedimentary Basin.

The contract for processing the seismic data has been awarded to Fugro Seismic Imaging Limited. It is anticipated that the processing of the data will be completed during September.

The survey has provided in-fill data to the 288 kilometre survey acquired by the licence partners during 2011.

Commenting on the survey, Andrew Hindle, CEO of InfraStrata plc said:

“The new survey will enable the project partners to refine their evaluation of the petroleum prospectivity of the licence area.

We are very pleased that this recent survey was completed by Tesla within the anticipated timeframe. Tesla and InfraStrata are extremely grateful to all third parties affected by the seismic programme for their support throughout the data collection period.

The Company will now review the data with project partners, and stakeholders will be fully consulted on future plans.”

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