OPINION 11
More UK gas storage needed to ensure integrity of supply
Mike Major makes the urgent case for more investment in UK gas storage facilities to prevent a volatile future.
Mike Major llama la atención sobre la urgente necesidad de una mayor inversión en instalaciones de almacenamiento de gas en el Reino Unido, para evitar un futuro volátil.
Mike Major unterstreicht die Dringlichkeit für mehr Investitionen in britische Gasreserven, um eine Unterversorgung in der Zukunft zu verhindern.
An Emerson Process
Management gas storage facility.
Picture:
Emerson Process Management
long contractual dispute between Russian and Ukraine over gas prices and transit fees at the start of the year may have been an isolated issue, it has certainly highlighted UK vulnerability to volatility in the gas market. At the heart of the problem in the UK is the fact that our main reserves and supply of natural gas from the North Sea are declining, making the country more dependent on imports. By 2015, it is likely up to 80 per cent of the UK’s gas supplies will be imported, compared with about 40 per cent now. Currently Britain has just 15 days of gas storage against 99 days in France and 122 days in Germany, leaving it far more exposed to disruptions. Being the largest gas producer in the world, Russia holds a mighty power over Europe. Indeed, just turning the valves off on three pipelines could virtually switch off the European economy. Fig. 1 highlights the extent to which the UK is lagging behind its neighbours in Europe in
P
ressure is mounting for more investment in UK gas storage facilities to ensure integrity of supply. While the three week
terms of both current and planned facilities. France, Germany, Spain and Italy all have higher current capacity than the UK’s total projected capacity. So, even if all the currently planned projects go-ahead, the UK will still not enjoy the levels of security seen among other countries. Britain currently has the capacity to store 4.3 billion cubic metres with the majority of the total stored at the Centrica operated Rough facility in the North Sea, 18 miles off the East Coast. We currently have stocks of 3.4 billion cubic metres. In my opinion, figures for storage capacity
in terms of number of days are conservative. Gas could be used up more quickly in extreme conditions such as unusually cold weather. Let
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Fig. 1. Current and planned gas storage capacity in Europe.
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