Egdon Resources (Egdon) together with its joint venture partners has signed a series of agreements related to the Kirkleatham gas field development with Sembcorp Utilities UK (Sembcorp). The agreement includes commercial terms of gas sales, the lease of a process site, the granting of wayleave rights for pipelines, and for the operation and maintenance of the facilities on the Wilton site.

Sembcorp has also been granted certain rights to participate in any future gas storage project that may be developed at Kirkleatham. Sembcorp owns the power station and much of the land on the Wilton International site and provides utilities and services to industrial customers on that site.

Planning consent was received for the Kirkleatham development in August 2009. The consent allowed for production from the existing Kirkleatham-4 well site and for the drilling, testing and production from up to two additional wells at the site.

The company said that gas will be transported from the well site via a 600mt long underground pipeline to the Wilton site boundary and then via an above ground pipeline to a processing site within Wilton. On the processing site, water and all hydrocarbon liquids will be removed and the gas heated and metered prior to delivery via an above ground pipeline to a Sembcorp-owned combined heat and power plant which generates electricity for site and export use and can also generates steam for site use.

Egdon has also named Stockton-on-Tees based K Home International (KHI) as the Engineering, Procurement Services and Construction Management (EPCM) contractor for the Kirkleatham development project.

KHI will manage the detailed design, procurement and construction phase of the development under the oversight of Egdon’s engineering consultants and project managers Vision Oil & Gas of Guildford. The near term focus will now be to secure the remaining regulatory approvals and to begin the construction phase of the project. The target for first gas is the start of the winter 2010 gas season.

Mark Abbott, managing director of Egdon, said: “This is a significant milestone for the Kirkleatham project. We have been working to monetise the Kirkleatham gas field since its discovery in early 2006 and are delighted to have reached agreement with Sembcorp in relation to the commercial terms for the project.”