Britain Gas Supply Falls to Two Days, Raising Short-Term Security Concerns
Great Britain has only two days of fossil gas stored after reserves declined as liquefied natural gas tankers were diverted toward Asia, National Gas said. Saturday at 9: 00 a. m. ET — that shortfall puts immediate pressure on britain gas supply as Middle East disruptions have shifted shipments away from Europe.
Britain Gas Supply: Storage at 6, 999 GWh Versus 12-Day Capacity
Data from National Gas show Great Britain held 6, 999 gigawatt hours (GWh) of fossil gas in storage on Saturday, down from 9, 105 GWh a year earlier. Maximum storage capacity is the equivalent of 12 days of gas; at current levels that equates to under two days of reserves, prompting concerns that supplies could be vulnerable if disruptions continue.
National Gas Says Diverse Sources Keep Flows Stable
National Gas said storage levels are “broadly in line with what we would expect at this point in the year” and emphasized that storage is only a small part of the overall supply picture. The operator noted most gas comes from the UK continental shelf and Norway, complemented by LNG, interconnectors with continental Europe and storage, which together provide the flexibility used to balance supply and demand every day.
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Rejects Two-Day Claim as Prices and Reroutes Rise
A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said in an official statement: “It is categorically untrue that the UK only has access to two days of gas supply. We have a diverse energy mix and are confident in our security of supply. “
Market movements and shipping changes have already affected prices and flows: UK month-ahead gas prices rose last week to 137p a therm, up from 78. 5p a therm before the Middle East conflict escalated. At least two tankers have redirected from Europe to Asia in the middle of the Atlantic since Friday, after three similar diversions the week before. The diversions followed attacks that led Qatar to halt production at the world’s biggest LNG plant and an effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a route that handles about a fifth of global seaborne gas shipments.
No further confirmed event, date or deadline is provided in the available information.
