LNG in the UK today

Over 18 million homes in the UK use natural gas: we use natural gas to heat our homes, cook food and enjoy a hot shower and over 40% of all electricity produced in the UK comes from natural gas.

Over the next few years, as North Sea gas declines and the UK needs to import increasing amounts of gas, some of it will come through pipelines but these are dependent on one particular source of supply. LNG (liquefied natural gas) has become a viable alternative to oil or piped gas (natural gas transported from its country of origin through pipelines). Indeed, LNG  is increasingly being seen as the best technology for large-scale movement of natural gas over long distances. LNG terminals provide flexibility: the gas can come from anywhere in the world, especially countries too far away to supply gas by pipeline.

Diversity and security of supply are closely linked to each other. Diversity can increase the security of supply by reducing the impact of disruption from any one source, thereby reducing the likelihood of sudden shortages. LNG has been used for many years in countries such as the USA, Korea and Japan. There is increasing use worldwide as advances in technology make LNG more economical to produce, transport and store, opening up a wider market for its use. Europe also uses imported LNG for commercial and household use with six terminals in Spain. There are regasification plants in Portugal, Belgium, France, Italy and Greece*.

The UK has already been home to LNG for over 40 years with a number of storage sites that include Avonmouth (Bristol), Glenmavis (Airdrie, Scotland), and Partington (Manchester). These sites take natural gas from the UK’s National Transmission System and cool and liquefy it into liquefied natural gas, then when required, the liquefied natural gas is regasified to meet the peak demand of UK households and businesses.

Dragon LNG’s new facilities can supply approximately 5% of the UK’s current energy needs . There are also LNG import facilities at the Isle of Grain (Rochester, Kent) and South Hook (Pembrokeshire).

*Source GIIGNL 2008.