Monday 1 November 2010

First LNG arrives at Isle of Grain

The first cargo of liquefied natural gas has been delivered to the National Grid's Isle of Grain LNG terminal.

The gas arrived on Friday onboard LNG ship Arctic Princess from Spanish energy firm Iberdrola and marked the final stage of a £310m expansion of the terminal, which involved building the world's largest above-ground LNG storage tank which is bigger than the Albert Hall.

A new jetty was also constructed, which is capable of berthing and unloading the biggest LNG carriers in the world.

With UK Continental Shelf gas reserves continuing to decline, and import dependency forecast to rise to around 70% by 2020, LNG is becoming an increasingly important element of Britain's gas supplies.

National Grid's Director of UK LNG Peter Boreham said: "As UK importation requirements continue to increase, Grain, now with its two jetties, represents a highly attractive opportunity for LNG shippers to secure their future position as part of the UK's supply portfolio. Grain LNG, as an independent operator with no gas market interests, is an ideal partner and the commissioning of a third phase of capacity demonstrates we continually deliver on our commitments."