Hot Air in Wales
Published: Wednesday, March 25th, 2009Over 25% of the U.K. gas supplies might end up being brought in by ship at two specially adapted ports at Milford Haven, Wales.
The British Government has agreed to buy gas from Qatar for an initial contract period of 25 years.
As North Sea reserves run out, gas brought over from the Middle East in special giant tankers is now seen as a way of maintaining crucial supplies and making the U.K. less reliant on volatile East European supplies.
And it’s all been made possible by a technology which super cools the gas into a liquid, called liquefied natural gas (LNG). This can then be transported in commercially viable quantities in tankers. Gas in it’s natural state would take up far more space than as a liquid, making it too expensive to tanker across thousands of miles.
In an investment worth some £13 billion, the two new special LNG terminals at Milford Haven include special LNG plants, and storage and docking facilities.
Ironically, the first ship bringing in the gas, The Tembek, was met by protesters who have campaigned against the idea for years. They claim that not only is LNG highly dangerous if there was a leak, but that the shipping lane approach to Milford Haven is just too narrow to safely handle a vessel of The Tembek’s size. They fear a catastrophe along the lines of Buncefield (when an oil storage depot literally exploded in 2005).
The Tembek had to wait for the tide so it could berth at the new South Hook terminal. The larger of the two new ports, it was built as a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum, ExxonMobile and Total.
The second terminal is expected to become operational later in 2009 and this was built in a partnership between Malaysia’s state oil firm Petronas, British Gas and the Netherland’s based 4Gas.
Once the gas has been offloaded and stored at the two ports, it will then be heated up and returned to its natural state, and then pumped long a new pipeline running from the ports to Gloucestershire.
Guest Article by Neil Camp
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My name is Alan Potts and I'm the Editor of the Gasboiler-BUYability web site and Managing Director of BUYability Limited. You can connect with me or keep up to date with new posts on this blog via the following social media sites: 
