UK making every effort to ensure sufficient gas supply: minister

London (Platts)--22Nov2005

The UK government is making every effort to ensure the country's gas
supplies remain adequate to meet peak demand this winter, energy minister
Malcolm Wicks said Tuesday.
     "No stone has been left unturned to help the infrastructure get [through]
this winter," Wicks told a gas conference in London. The minister described
the current situation as "unsatisfactory."
     With long-term weather forecasts predicting a possible
colder-than-average winter for the UK this year, the government has
commissioned consultants to prepare two new reports into the security of gas
supplies.
     Draft reports are due to be presented at a meeting with business groups
in December and the government has promised to make the reports publicly
available soon after.
     A cold winter could lead to shortages of gas because of declining UK
production. If the winter was the coldest in a decade, energy intensive users
may have to cut 30% of their demand for 40 days to keep the system balanced.
     Business groups met Wicks at 10 Downing Street on Nov 9 to discuss the
gas market and voice their fears over supplies.
     Prompt gas prices rose to as 115 pence/therm Monday, more than double the
30 p/th average day-ahead price seen during October.

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