The Infrastructure Minister has rejected claims that her department was slow to implement regulations that would have allowed Crogga Ltd to explore the possibility of extracting gas from the Isle of Man’s seabed.

Michelle Haywood MHK has been responding to an urgent question tabled by Middle MHK Stu Peters in the House of Keys this morning.

At the weekend, Crogga Ltd confirmed that its plans to drill for natural gas off the Manx coast, which it claimed could have generated billions for the economy, had come to a halt.

The company had estimated that over the 19-year lifespan of the Crogga field, located off the coast of Maughold, it could have sold 660 billion cubic feet of natural gas, generating £2.8 billion in revenues and royalties for the Treasury and £2.5 billion in net income for shareholders.

However, it said that after nearly seven years of pressing the Department of Infrastructure (DoI) for updated oil and gas regulations, it has now withdrawn its proposals.

In the House of Keys on Tuesday morning, Infrastructure Minister Dr Michelle Haywood MHK responded to queries about the expired licence and whether this meant the island would never know if it had a commercially viable gas field in its territorial waters.

Dr Haywood confirmed that the licence had expired and stated: ‘There is no intention to renew the licence’.

She added that determining whether a commercial gas field existed would require the relevant surveys, including a 3D seismic survey and exploratory well drilling.

Despite Crogga’s claims of regulatory delays, Dr Haywood asserted that the company could have undertaken a 3D seismic survey as early as 2019 but failed to do so.

She also revealed that as late as Friday last week, the government had still been offering an extension to deadlines to continue discussions with the company.

Addressing concerns over funding, Dr Haywood said she would not advocate the government paying for the surveys, stating she would not ‘gamble’ with taxpayers’ money.

She also disclosed that Crogga had requested the government underwrite its survey at a cost of £15 million, a request that was not supported by herself, the DoI, or the Council of Ministers.

The minister also cast doubt on whether any gas supply would have actually reached the Isle of Man, as the DoI understood Crogga’s intention was to pipe gas directly into the UK network.

Dr Haywood also dismissed claims from Kate Lord-Brennan MHK that the issue had not been a ‘priority’ for the DoI, saying the matter had taken precedence over other departmental work.

She further noted that under the original timeframe, the scheme should have already reached production at this stage.

The issue of cooperation between Crogga and Orsted, which is seeking to develop a wind farm in the same area of sea, also arose during the debate.

Dr Haywood insisted that the department had facilitated discussions between the two companies and had sought ways for both projects to coexist.

She strongly refuted claims that Orsted had been given preferential treatment, adding that ‘both parties have been treated fairly’.