Update re Rivara
www.ir-plc.com
Ticker symbol: IRG
Italian partnership agreement completed for key Rivara project
AIM-quoted Independent Resources plc ("IRG") has finalised the agreement under which the Italian
energy group ERG will help permit and develop its planned underground gas storage facility at
Rivara in the Po Valley, northern Italy.
Completion of the agreement and its associated transaction follows an announcement last April that
ERG Power & Gas SpA ("EPG"), a subsidiary of the Italian energy firm ERG SpA, will become a 15%
partner in a new company (now established as ERG Rivara Storage srl) to hold, develop, and operate
the future Rivara gas storage facility.
As part of an overall agreed investment of €9.5 million for its 15% ownership stake, EPG has
injected an initial €2.375 million on 24th June 2008, and is required to inject the balance of
€7.125 million to fulfil its capital subscription. IRG holds the remaining 85% of ERG Rivara
Storage srl. As a consequence of this transaction, IRG will be reporting in due course a non-
taxable contribution to IRG group income in excess of £5 million. Such contributions will be
recognised periodically, as and when the monies are received from EPG
The transaction values IRG's 85% participation in Rivara at €53.8 million (£42.6 million),
equivalent to 127 pence per share based on IRG's existing issued share capital.
Following completion of the agreement, IRG will be submitting updated documentation to Italy's
Ministry of Environment pursuant to the project's Environmental Impact Study (VIA) as it seeks the
Ministry's environmental clearance. The incoming Italian government has announced a relatively pro-
business and pro-development platform which can be expected to improve efficiency within certain
key ministries. The Ministry of Environment has inherited a new VIA process from the outgoing
government that is proclaimed to be more transparent and purely technical than previously, as well
as more efficient in its interaction with the public. The Ministry's new VIA commission is
expected to be nominated and confirmed within July, and we look forward to updating our
shareholders with progress.
IRG announced in April that the ERG agreement will enable it to draw on the Italian group's
extensive experience as a reliable operator in the energy sector and will help ensure that the
Rivara project meets the high technical and environmental standards required. ERG also has a
positive track-record in successfully navigating its VIA submissions.
IRG is currently seeking environmental approvals ahead of the planned development of Rivara, a
deeply buried fractured limestone structure viewed as ideally suited to efficient gas storage
thanks to the presence of an active aquifer that provides constant natural water drive. Rivara has
an expected nameplate working gas capacity of 3.2 billion cubic metres and the ability to deliver
in excess of 32 million cubic metres of gas per day back into the Italian pipeline system.
IRG is planning the Rivara development against a background of severe mid-winter gas supply
disruptions in Italy due to increasing gas storage capacity deficits, and has appointed the
oilfield services group Schlumberger to advise on and manage the subsurface development programme.
Rivara is located next to the key convergence point between Italy's gas transmission network and
trans-continental pipelines, further enhancing its long-term strategic potential as a physical
trading hub.
For further information contact:
Stephen Staley, Managing Director, Independent Resources plc: 01332 865 253
07771 838 753
Allan Piper, First City Financial Public Relations: 020 7242 2666
David Smith, Deloitte Corporate Finance (Nomad) 020 7007 8177
Background details follow:
IRG was admitted to AIM in December 2005 and is pursuing an integrated and asset-backed gas
trading business in Italy with midstream components in Italy and upstream components within Italy
and in North Africa. The company aims to pursue this long-term strategy in the most
environmentally-sustainable way, by incorporating from the outset the permanent geological
sequestration of CO2 emissions into its future commodity production and trading. IRG has focused
on developing both conventional oil and unconventional gas production, and building a profitable
portfolio through wholly-owned initiatives and partnerships.
For the ERG transaction, Independent Resources was advised by Banca IMI, the investment bank of
Intesa Sanpaolo Group, and Ashurst, the international law firm.
Independent Resources plc
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