Reuters: Risks to UK gas security abound - Ofgem chief

A lack of sufficient gas storage, heavy dependence on Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) and an unknown American capacity to export gas to Europe are all risks to Britain's gas supply security, the UK's energy regulator chief said this week.

"Fundamentally we are very concerned about security of (energy) supply," said Ofgem Chief Executive Alistair Buchanan at a gas seminar on Thursday evening.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) asked the regulator last year to examine the UK's gas supply in the medium to long term, given political upheaval in the Middle East and the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011.

One risk to supply includes cold weather that could tax storage, Buchanan said. MORE