The Telegraph: UK gas supplies 'relying on luck', former energy minister Charles Hendry warns
The Government is relying on “luck” to deliver Britain’s gas supplies and must safeguard national security by building more storage facilities, Charles Hendry, the former energy minister, has warned.
Recent low oil and gas prices will hasten the demise of North Sea fields and deter investment in fracking for new shale resources, making the UK more dependent on gas imports even sooner than had been feared, he said.
Mr Hendry, the Conservative MP, served as energy minister until 2012. A year later, one of his successors, fellow Conservative Michael Fallon, ruled out intervention to encourage new gas storage, despite Government-commissioned analysis showing it could save consumers £1bn.
Britain can hold only about 15 days of gas supplies in long-term storage, compared with about 100 days for European counterparts – a situation the Conservatives pledged in opposition to address.