Appointment of Ernst & Young


 

TIDMPTG 
 
 
Portland Gas plc 
18 August 2009 
 
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For Immediate Release18 August 2009 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PRESS RELEASE 
 
 
Appointment of Ernst & Young 
 
 
 
 
The Directors of Portland Gas plc (AIM: PTG) ("the Company") are pleased to 
announce that Ernst & Young LLP has been appointed as financial advisors to the 
Company in respect of the proposed divestment of shares in Portland Gas Holdings 
Limited ("PGL"). 
 
 
PGL is the developer of the Company's proposed large and flexible gas storage 
facility at Portland in the UK ("Portland Project"). The details of the sale 
process were announced to the market on 30th July 2009. Potential investors are 
being asked to express interest by the end of September 2009 to join a 
Co-operation Group which will facilitate the sharing of due-diligence activities 
and costs. In Q1 2010 those who have participated in the Group will then have an 
opportunity to make a firm commitment to invest. 
 
 
Commenting on the news, Craig Gouws, CFO of Portland Gas plc, said: 
 
 
"We are pleased that Ernst & Young has joined the team to advise the Company 
during the ongoing process. The appointment of Ernst & Young is an important 
milestone in the sale process and we believe Ernst & Young has the depth of 
experience and skill to provide the necessary support and advice during the 
divestiture process". 
 
 
 
 
 
 
For further information please contact: 
 
 
Portland Gas plc 
Andrew Hindle, Chief Executive Officer 
                                020 8332 1200 
Craig Gouws, Chief Financial Officer 
 
 
PR - Watershed 
Sara Hudston 
                      01308 420785 
 
 
Investor Relations - Buchanan Communications 
Ben Willey 
                            020 7466 5000 
 
 
Nominated Advisor and Broker - Seymour Pierce 
Jonathan Wright 
                             020 7107 8000 
Sarah Jacobs 
Richard Redmayne 
 
 
 
 
Notes to Editors: 
 
 
Background on Portland Gas plc 
 
 
Portland Gas' business is focused on the development of two gas storage projects 
in the United Kingdom at Portland, Dorset and at Islandmagee, County Antrim, 
Northern Ireland. The two projects could between them provide over 10% of the 
total UK and Ireland peak daily demand in the latter part of the next decade. 
The Company is also developing new projects in mainland Europe initially 
focussing on Germany and Spain. The Company is one of only a few in Europe 
focused specifically on gas storage development, a sector with significant 
growth potential in Europe over the coming decades. In order that the "Portland 
Gas" name can remain with the Portland Project where it is very well established 
in Dorset, the Directors intend to seek approval at the next Annual General 
Meeting of the Company, scheduled for December 2009, to change the name of 
Portland Gas plc to "Infrastrata plc". The project company, Portland Gas 
Holdings Limited, would then be renamed to "Portland Gas Limited". 
 
 
Portland Project 
 
 
At a projected 1,000 million cubic metres ("mcm") or 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. On peak 
demand days the design allows for the withdrawal rate to be boosted to 30mcm per 
day. The current estimate of total development cost for the project is GBP456m. 
The project will use brine compensation technology and will not require cushion 
gas. The project company is Portland Gas Holdings Limited ("PGL"). PGL's legal 
advisor is Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP and project finance advisor is BNP 
Paribas. 
 
 
Background on Ernst & Young 
 
 
Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory 
services. Worldwide they employ 135,000 people united by their shared values and 
an unwavering commitment to quality. Ernst & Young make a difference by helping 
their people, their clients and their wider communities achieve their potential. 
 
 
Ernst & Young refers to the global organization of member firms of Ernst & Young 
Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global 
Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to 
clients. For more information, visit www.ey.com. 
 
 
Further information is available on the Company's website www.portland-gas.com. 
 
This information is provided by RNS 
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange 
   END 
 
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