A government minister has criticised “dangerous scaremongering” following claims that Britain has just two days of gas stored despite threats of disruption from the US-Iran conflict.
The reports emerged after analysis of data from National Gas – which owns and operates the nation’s gas transmission system – showed that it had 6,999 gigawatt hours (GWh) of fossil gas stored on Saturday. This is down from 9,105 GWh a year earlier.
These claims are based on some small truth: if the UK were to use only gas currently in storage without replenishment, it would run out in around 3.5 days (based on average nationwide use of 2,000 GWh a day).
However, storage increased to 7,510 GWh on Tuesday, showing that the claims perhaps aren’t as concerning as they appear.
In practice, rather than being taken solely from storage, the UK’s gas supply is constantly replenished from Norwegian pipelines, domestic production in the North Sea, and imports of liquified natural gas (LNG).
The most important function of gas in the UK is in heating, providing warmth to over 20 million UK homes that use gas heating systems. It is also used to aid electricity generation.
During the warmer months, gas stock tends to go into storage, when imports exceed demand. In Winter, the opposite is true, as the storage that has been built up often supplements increased demand.
A National Gas spokesperson said: “Britain’s gas storage levels are broadly in line with what we would expect at this point in the year and are comparable to this time last year. It’s important to remember that storage makes up only a small part of Britain’s diverse gas supply mix. Most of our gas comes from the UK continental shelf and Norway, complemented by LNG, interconnectors with continental Europe, and storage.
“Great Britain benefits from a wide range of supply sources that the market draws on every day. Together, these provide the flexibility needed to balance supply and demand reliably throughout the year.”
Meanwhile, energy minister Michael Shanks commented on Monday: “Reports of gas shortages are categorically untrue and lead to dangerous scaremongering.”
This is not to say there is no pressure on the UK’s gas supply. The conflict in the Middle East has caused the wholesale gas rate to almost double as crucial trading routes are blocked by the threat of military action.
Conflict spread across the region after the US and Israel carried out strikes on Iran on 28 February, which were followed by retaliatory Iranian attacks on targets in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Iraq.
Blasts continue to be reported across the region, as America and Israel continue airstrikes on Iranian targets. As fighting escalates, Iran has warned that it will “set fire” to any ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
The strait provides the only passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, making it a crucial point for the oil industry. Around 20 per cent of the world’s gas and oil is shipped through the waterway, with the Iranian threat proving highly damaging for global trade.
Qatar also closed the world’s largest LNG plant following a drone strike last week, prompting further gas price rises.
This has put the energy market “in turmoil” chief executive of Octopus Energy, Greg Jackson, recently warned. While households in the UK are largely protected until July under Ofgem’s energy price cap, there are fears that the new pressures could cause energy bills to spike if the conflict does not de-escalate soon.
A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: “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.
“Gas will continue to play a key role in our diverse and resilient energy system as we transition to more secure, clean homegrown energy. We are working with industry to ensure the gas system is fit for the future, including maintaining security of supply in the rarest scenarios.”
