UK's Rough gas storage could reopen this winter: press
Centrica is looking to restart the UK's abandoned 100bn ft3 capacity Rough gas storage facility in time for the winter demand season, Reuters reported July 28.
CEO Chris O'Shea said the site could reopen if discussions with the government were successful, and Centrica is already carrying out engineering work. Bloomberg says capacity would be returned gradually, while Whitehall would provide subsidies to fund regular operations.
Rough is a former gas field reservoir off Yorkshire's coastline, some 2.7 km below the seabed. It was the largest gas storage facility in the UK until it closed in 2017, accounting for 70% of national capacity.
Centrica was unable to keep the facility open because the infrastructure connecting the gas storage, had become dilapidated and became too expensive to maintain. Some of the infrastructure dates back to Rough's time as an active offshore gas producer.
Industry observers have said Rough closing was a mistake, though Centrica has said previously it needs government funding support to bring it back into service. Earlier media reports suggested Centrica would need around £1.6bn of state funding support to make the project viable.