The company, which owns British Gas, has joined Gaz de France and First Oil to study the feasibility of converting the Bains gas field, in the Irish Sea, into a storage site. advertisementBritain’s lack of storage capacity is blamed for contributing to high domestic gas prices. British Gas has to buy in the wholesale market more frequently during peak winter demand, when “spot” prices are at their highest. More storage would help Centrica manage demand, enabling it to buy and store more gas in the summer when wholesale prices are lower, the company says. However, the proposed site, close to Centrica’s Morecambe Bay gas fields, is only one fifth the size of Rough, the UK’s largest storage site, which accounts for 70pc of the UK’s total capacity. And the UK’s total storage capacity can meet only 5pc of annual gas demand. France and Germany have enough capacity to store about 20pc of their needs. Sam Laidlaw, Centrica’s chief executive, said: “We believe Bains has real potential as a new gas storage facility, being close to existing infrastructure and having the right reservoir characteristics. “As the UK becomes increasingly reliant on imported gas and flexibility from North Sea fields declines in the coming years, investing in much-needed storage facilities, which will boost this country’s security of supply, forms part of Centrica’s long term programme of investing in a range of gas, power and renewable projects to supply our British Gas customers.” The company estimates that the cost of the project would be between £300m-£350m, and be online by the winter of 2011-12. The gas field is named after John Bains, the geologist who discovered the Morecambe Bay gas fields in the 1970s.

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