Gassco Deal Sees Deeping of UK-Norwegian Cooperation

The UK government has officially decreed that it will continue to deepen links with Norway on energy, with the signing of the Norway-UK Energy Partnership for Sustainable Growth.

The partnersip deal, which was signed between UK Prime Minister David Cameron and Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, ensures long-term cooperation between the two countries in a number of energy areas, including gas, oil and wind. In addition to a Centrica-Statoil deal announced yesterday, the agreement sees a deal between Centrica and Gassco. Through this deal, greater amounts of gas can be imported from Norway to the UK, via Gassco's transport systems.

"A deal between Shell and Gassco [will] strengthen UK energy security by providing British customers with more gas from Norway," a statement from the Department of Energy and Climate Change said. "By making better use of spare capacity in the UK gas transport system, Norwegian gas owners and transporters, including Shell, will be able to transport more gas from Norwegian fields via the Tampen Link to the FLAGS pipeline into St Fergus."

The partnership will deepen the UK's already strong links with Norway for fossil fuels, increasing its import of gas from Norway, which currently stands at 42 per cent.

"The jobs and investments announced today highlight how vital the strong relationship between Norway and the United Kingdom is for our energy security and economic growth," Prime Minster Cameron said."We look forward to strengthening our partnership further, driving investment into a diverse, sustainable energy mix that delivers affordable long term supplies for consumers."