A new company has come forward with proposals to develop a gas field in Manx waters - and believes it could generate £4bn in tax revenue.

Marque Oil and Gas is objecting to the plans for the Mooir Vannin offshore windfarm.

It has revealed it is seeking to obtain a licence to appraise a potentially large gas field in broadly the same area that Crogga had wanted to explore.

Marque is calling for a decision on the Mooir Vannin scheme to be deferred until valuations of both offshore wind and the gas field are fully considered.

In a response to the public consultation on Mooir Vannin Offshore Windfarm Ltd’s application for a marine infrastructure consent, Marque said: ‘We consider that the gas development will generate considerably more revenue to the Isle of Man government compared to the quoted value of £2bn for the windfarm over similar timeframes.’

It added: ‘The opportunity to develop the gas offshore the Isle of Man is a now-or-never decision.’

Marque director Mark Ibram said: ‘Although there are caveats around current subsurface uncertainties and predicting future gas prices, we estimate that the tax revenue could be in the region of £4bn over 20+ years.’

He confirmed discussions had taken place with the Manx government.

Mr Ibram said: ‘We have worked for the last five years on developing an understanding of the subsurface and the potential for gas extraction in the area and we do have a detailed appraisal programme scoped out.

‘We are in position now where further progress relies on political decisions, specifically on a licence award being allowed, drilling regulations being developed, and, critically, deferment of the Mooir Vannin wind farm installation until after the gas field is appraised.

‘We held talks with Crogga Ltd when they held the licence. We had interests in adjacent prospects in UK territorial waters and saw synergies and cost reductions by sharing seismic vessel and rig mob/demob costs, and pipeline installation costs.’

Manx-based Crogga secured a licence in 2018 to carry out a 3D seismic survey and sink and exploratory well.

But this expired earlier this year after the company failed to reach agreement over the terms for another extension.

Marque said its proposals would be consistent with the island’s current net zero ambitions with the most likely development option being to pipe most of the gas to the UK where electricity generators connected to carbon capture and storage facilities would provide emission free electricity to the Isle of Man through a new interconnector.

It pointed out that key infrastructure pipelines and processing facilities in Morecambe Bay and Barrow that would required to transport the gas from the island are both currently expected to close around 2030 - but additional gas resources would enable the life of these to be extended.

Proposals by Mooir Vannin Offshore Wind Farm Limited, part of Ørsted, could see up to 87 wind turbines, with a maximum height to blade tip of up to 350m, installed off the north-east coast of the island.

Responses to the public consultation were published last month.

A total of 477 responses were submitted to the consultation which closed on November 18.

Among those who have objected to the plans is the Ministry of Defence.

It has expressed concerns that the offshore windfarm could result in ‘unacceptable and unmanageable’ interference on the surveillance radar used by BAE Warton aerodrome in Lancashire.

But the windfarm developer insists it can resolve issues raised by the MoD.

The Council of Ministers has now referred the application for examination to an independent panel of experts which will ultimately advise on whether a marine infrastructure consent should be granted.