National Grid begs for gas after Norway freeze
BRITAIN’S National Grid yesterday appealed for more gas supplies to be pumped to the UK after much-needed Norwegian imports were stopped by freezing weather.
The biting cold shut big Norwegian gas field Ormen Lange and a major gas processing centre over the weekend and continued to hamper North Sea gas flows from Norway yesterday at a time of peak demand.
National Grid’s plea, called a gas balancing alert (GBA), was the fourth declared so far this year and only the fifth since the system was introduced four years ago.
The GBA indicates to the market that there is the potential for gas demand to exceed supply.
It is unclear when Ormen Lange production – facing temperatures of minus 5Cs – will restart but the Kaarstoe processing facility on Norway’s south west coast is ramping up production and was hit full power late yesterday.