Petrofac, which will develop gas storage project in the East Irish Sea, will join Gateway as the technical project operator.
Petrofac will be jointly responsible for developing the project, and will be represented on Gateway’s board.
The cost was indicated at up to £33m, funded from cash resource, according to the company.
The company said that this is split into a fixed upfront payment and additional contingent payments, subject to key project development milestones being achieved, including the outcome of a further successful equity sales process.
The front end engineering and design (FEED) phase of the project is nearing completion and the focus is now turning to project execution and finalization of the consortium of storage capacity holders and investors to develop the project towards the final investment decision in 2011.
The Gateway Storage project, which would add nearly 30% to the current gas storage capacity in the UK market, secured the first gas storage license from the UK Department of Energy & Climate Change in February 2010 after receiving the main planning and environmental consents and permits in late 2008.
Gateway is targeting 2016 for the commencement of storage services to the UK energy markets.
