Energy: Gas

Lord Jenkin of Roding Excerpts

Tuesday 29th May 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Marland]

I might be many things, but I do not think that the noble Lord will find me being complacent. I do not agree with him that gas is coming from unsafe places. Twenty per cent of our gas comes from Norway, with which I think we would all agree we have a safe and clear relationship; 5% to 10% comes from the Netherlands, with which we have another strong relationship; and, of course, 50% is from our own supply. We are not being complacent. We have given planning permission for another 20% of storage. We have made sure that our LNG stations are the best in the world. Ofgem is continually on the case in its work, and our gas generation strategy, which we hope to announce in the autumn, will be a fundamental game changer in that regard.

[Lord Jenkin of Roding]

Does my noble friend agree that there would be a greater chance of increasing the amount of gas storage in this country—we have far less than all the other countries in the European continent—if there were a statutory obligation on gas suppliers, similar to the one that affects suppliers of petroleum, to maintain a reserve in this country? This would enable those who are planning storage plant to raise the capital to pay for it.

[Lord Marland]

Storage is important, but one has to remember that we have 16 days of storage and planning permission for a 20% increase on that. Storage is therefore increasing, but the fundamental fact is that 150% of the nation’s supply of LNG is capable of being delivered and processed very quickly. So I do not think that storage is the be all and end all, particularly as we have three dedicated pipelines—one from the Netherlands, one from Norway and one from our own supply—which give us about 80% plus of our supply. I am therefore not as hung up on storage as the noble Lord might expect me to be.