North Sea storage to shore up UK gas
British Gas owner Centrica was today preparing to reopen its Rough gas storage facility in the North Sea following a fire, as it looked to shore up supply for the UK this winter.
Rough is the largest gas storage facility in Western Europe and represents around 75% of UK storage with enough capacity to meet 10% of peak winter gas demand
The storage facility consists of the Alpha and Bravo platforms on the partially depleted Rough gas field 18 miles off the east coast of Yorkshire in the southern North Sea, and an onshore gas processing terminal at Easington, East Yorkshire
The offshore platforms were originally developed to pump natural gas from the Rough gas field in October 1975 but the site was converted into a storage facility by British Gas in 1985
It can now store 100 billion cubic feet of gas some 9,000 feet under the seabed, which can be withdrawn at short notice to meet demand.
