Centrica increases Rough gas storage facility

The owner of British Gas said that following engineering work, the facility – located 18 miles off the coast of east Yorkshire – can now hold 54bn cubic feet of gas, the equivalent of around six days of average gas use.

Rough was closed in 2017 but was reopened in October 2022, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. At the time of the reopening, it was able store around 30bn cubic feet of gas.

Chris O’Shea, chief executive, said: “The resilience of the UK’s energy system needs to be substantially improved.

“Rough is not a silver bullet for energy security, but it plays a critical role in increasing capacity and supply confidence over the winter month.”

He also called on regulatory support to repurpose the Rough field. O’Shea said Centrica was “ready to invest” £2bn into the project, which would create the world’s largest methane and hydrogen storage facility, “but to do this, we need the right regulatory support framework.

“This world class North Sea asset has the potential to help the UK economy return to a position of being a net exporter of energy once again.”

The UK has some of the lowest levels of gas storage in Europe. Currently, it is able to store 12 days’ worth of gas, or 7.5 peak winter days. In contrast, Germany is able to store 89 days and France 103 days.

Rough provides around half of the UK's total gas storage, storing gas when there is a surplus and producing it when needed, such as during cold snaps or peak demand.