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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Nils Pratley

The UK needs more North Sea gas, not greater reliance on US imports

An LNG facility in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, United States
A liquefied natural gas facility in Louisiana. On the current trajectory, the UK looks set to max out on LNG from US if domestic supplies diminish. Photograph: Joel Angel Juarez/Reuters

Terrific news: despite turmoil in the strait of Hormuz, the UK will have sufficient supplies of gas to meet demand this summer, said National Gas, which operates the gas transmission system, on Monday.

But contain your relief. The summer months of lower usage were never likely to be a moment of stress. Gas via pipelines from the UK and Norwegian fields in the North Sea can handle virtually all UK demand when most of the 24m households with a gas connection have their heating turned off. Little liquefied natural gas, or LNG, the stuff that arrives on ships, is needed during the summer.

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