§ Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proposals her Department has to encourage oil and gas companies to utilise existing offshore gas reservoirs for re-injected gas storage; and if she will make a statement. [71468]
§ Mr. WilsonMaking such proposals is a commercial matter for the oil and gas companies; the Department stands ready to assess such proposals for the purpose of issuing the necessary consents, notably production licences and pipe-line authorisations. Meanwhile the Department and Ofgem are ensuring industry and public awareness of the case for additional gas storage facilities, whether offshore or onshore, through the work of the Joint Energy Security of Supply Working Group (JESS). JESS's first report, published in June, noted that there is uncertainty about the adequacy of gas supplies to meet demand from consumers during a period of sustained peak demand from about 2004–05, and that additional infrastructure (including gas storage) may be the most efficient way of ensuring security of supply.
§ Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions her Department has had with major oil and gas companies about the future utilisation of depleted gas reservoirs in offshore fields for gas storage; and if she will make a statement. [71466]
§ Mr. WilsonThe Department discusses this and other issues with petroleum companies from time to time. Details of such discussions are commercially confidential.
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§ Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessments she has made of the(a) current volume of depleted gas reservoirs in offshore fields and (b) potential volume of gas reservoirs in offshore fields, which could be used for re-injected gas storage; and if she will make a statement about gas reservoir depletion. [71467]
§ Mr. WilsonIt is for the oil and gas companies to make such assessments, and to come forward with commercial proposals. As gas production from some gas fields on the UK Continental Shelf stops, there may well be further opportunities—following the example of Rough—to use a number of reservoirs for gas storage. Whether a particular reservoir is suitable will depend on such factors as: how far it is depleted; whether it has the right physical characteristics, including "cushion gas" to permit easy injection/withdrawal without excessive production of liquids; and its proximity to shore.
§ Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received about the development of onshore subterranean gas storage and processing facilities; and what her Department's policy is on the development of such facilities. [71469]
§ Mr. WilsonThe Department discusses such schemes with oil and gas companies, and other interested parties, from time to time. Details of such discussions are commercially confidential. In correspondence with Cheshire county council my Department has noted that gas storage facilities make a valuable contribution to the reliability of physical gas supplies and to maintaining competition in the gas supply chain, and that consumers (including electricity consumers who indirectly rely on gas) benefit in both ways. I am placing a copy of my Department's letter of 27 March in the Libraries of the House.