No exploratory drilling for gas in Manx waters in 2023, firm says

Crogga is returning public investment in exploratory drilling

Exploratory works for drilling for natural gas in Manx waters will not take place this year, the firm behind the project has said.

Crogga, which was granted a licence to search for gas in the island's territorial seas, had planned to start drilling an appraisal well in October.

The firm has blamed "political indecision" for delays in creating regulations to allow consent for that.

The government said it was assessing a request to vary the licence.

The licence for the exploration was issued by the Department of Infrastructure (DOI) on behalf of the government.

Critics of the project previously said allowing fossil fuel extraction was at odds with the government's goal of reaching net-zero climate emissions by 2050.

There has been plans for an appraisal well off he coast of Maughold

In January, the firm announced it had appointed Three60 Energy to drill an appraisal well to understand how much gas is under the seabed 17km (10.5miles) off Maughold Head.

The firm also began a subscription process to fund the drilling, allowing members of the public to invest in the project.

However, in its June newsletter to shareholders, it said it had now "taken the decision to return subscriptions to Independence Well Raise subscribers".

The firm's chief executive officer Richard Hubbard said although the fund raising had shown "widespread" support from the Manx public, that "does not seem to be the case" within government ranks.

Some civil servants and politicians "appear reluctant to associate with drilling a gas well and without firm leadership," he added.

"Very little forward motion has occurred within DOI, who are responsible for managing the Crogga licence."

The DOI said full consideration was being given to the consequences of a proposal to vary the terms of the licence by bringing forward the drilling of an appraisal well and Crogga's ability to undertake this under the provisions of the licence.

In a statement, the government said: "Crogga had requested the DOI vary its Petroleum Act 1986 licence, which mirrored the terms of a full UK standard Seaward Production (Innovate) Licence, as the firm had originally requested.

"The legislative and regulatory frameworks for the drilling and production phase of the project, including phase C, will only become needed if exploration Phase B is completed successfully or if the licence is varied as requested by Crogga.

"Substantial work has been undertaken on developing the legislative and regulatory requirements and North Sea Transition Authority guidance is helpful.

"Until Crogga's request to vary its licence, the first appraisal well was scheduled for Q1 2026, but the accelerated work programme now proposed by Crogga raises issues of a technical nature requiring expert assessment."

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