Qatar is today reported to be expanding a major gas terminal in Wales, as the UK Government ramps up its reliance on shipments of liquefied natural gas from overseas.
State energy company Qatar Energy and ExxonMobil, the US oil giant, are investing heavily to boost capacity at their South Hook LNG terminal at Milford Haven.
It comes as the UK and Europe are scrambling to find new sources of fuel after Russia restricted gas supplies to Europe amid the Kremlin's war on Ukraine, sending prices soaring.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is now poised to announce a major supply deal to get gas from the US, it emerged yesterday.
The Telegraph says that the US and Qatar are the two biggest players in the global market for LNG.
Investment in South Hook comes in tandem with Qatar Energy and ExxonMobil's development of the £8.6billion new Golden Pass terminal in the US, which is set to be up and running by 2024 and expected to export to the UK.
Increasingly reliant
Britain has become increasingly reliant on LNG in recent years. It fulfilled about 17% of the UK's gas demand in 2021.
Qatar and its partners built the South Hook terminal in 2009. It is one of three UK LNG terminals, the second of which is also in Wales, and the third in Kent.
The facility can currently process about 15.6million tonnes of gas per year, which owners say is equivalent to about 20% of the UK's annual gas demand.
Qatar wants to increase South Hook's capacity to almost 20million tonnes of gas per year - a move which analysts estimate could cost hundreds of millions of pounds. It is expected to be ready in the middle of 2025.
Both Qatar and the US are already major suppliers of LNG to the UK. Of the 175 shipments sent to the UK between January and September, 51 came from Qatar and 81 came from the US.
The Telegraph says global shipments to the UK this year have been far higher than normal as it is acting as a "gas bridge" to Europe, which is scrambling to replace Russian supplies but does not yet have enough import facilities.
New export facilities
The Golden Pass LNG export terminal being built in Texas is among several new export facilities being built in the US as it finds new markets for its vast shale gas production.
Meanwhile, the risk of energy shortages in Britain and across the Channel this winter is reported to be growing as French state energy giant EDF faces fresh problems with its nuclear power stations.
France usually generates 70%of its electricity from nuclear power, but 26 of the country's 56 reactors are currently offline - some because of routine maintenance and others because of cracking problems that require repairs.
FTSE 100
The UK's
top share index, the FTSE 100, was down 21 points at 7,285 shortly after
opening this morning, following yesterday's six-point gain.
Brent
crude futures were marginally lower at $95.34 a barrel.
Companies reporting today
- Half-year results: Marks & Spencer
- Trading statements: Aviva, Flutter Entertainment. ITV, Smiths Group, Taylor Wimpey