Portland Gas is a wholly owned subsidiary of Infrastrata plc and is developing a gas storage facility on the Isle of Portland.

At a projected 1,000 million cubic metres (“mcm”) (35 billion cubic feet (“bcf”)) of working gas, the facility would be the largest onshore gas storage facility in the UK. Planning permission was granted by Dorset County Council in May 2008 and Pipeline Construction Authorisation was granted by the BERR (now known as the Department of Energy and Climate Change) in July 2008. The gas storage facility is designed to inject or withdraw gas at 20mcm per day. The current estimate of total development cost for the project is £456m. The project will use brine compensation technology and will not require cushion gas. A process to secure full funding of the project through the introduction of investors into the project company was launched in July 2009.

In October 2009 a Co-operation Group (“Group”) was established consisting of five companies who have each expressed an interest in acquiring a working interest in the Portland Project, together with Infrastrata UK Limited (the subsidiary of Portland Gas plc that currently owns Portland Gas Holdings Limited (“PGL”)). The members of the Group are currently undertaking a due-diligence exercise. PGL’s legal advisor, Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP, is drawing up a Shareholders’ Agreement and a separate Capacity Agreement. In parallel, PGL’s project finance advisor, BNP Paribas, is working work on the development of the financing structure.

In November 2009, the European Investment Bank ("EIB") listed the Portland Gas Storage Project in its pipeline of projects under appraisal. The EIB supports projects which contribute to energy diversification and security at EU level. The pipeline of projects under appraisal by the EIB are listed on their website. In December 2009, Atkins Limited was appointed as Lenders technical advisors.

Saving the Portland Dinosaur Footprints, 2009.