Maintenance work on British gas infrastructure, combined with the cautious return from repair of a key gas pipeline and the possible arrival of more gas from Norway, could pull gas prices in both directions this week. Supplies of gas from Britain’s own fields have been slashed by the closure of the Theddlethorpe gas terminal and South Morecambe gas field on Monday for maintenance, continued work at Shell’s Shearwater field and an apparent production cut at Total’s Elgin-Franklin field. Meanwhile, demand has been hit by the closure for 15 day’s maintenance from Monday of the pipeline used to export gas to continental Europe and by reduced injections into storage. Centrica , the operator of Britain’s largest gas storage site Rough, was forced to limit the amount of fuel that can be pumped into the facility from Monday because it is nearly full, the company said. Rough, a big storage site under the North Sea, is expected to shut completely for maintenance from early on Friday, further cutting demand for gas to be taken from the network. At the same time, the closure of Rough will mean another possible source of the fuel used to heat most homes in Britain will be cut off until Sept 21, so it will be unable to top up supplies for two weeks. Centrica said on Monday its South Morecambe gas field in the Irish Sea was shut over the weekend for maintenance expected to last until October 1. Nothing was flowing into Britain through the SEAL pipeline, which brings gas in from the big Shearwater and Elgin-Franklin fields in the North Sea. Shearwater is closed for annual maintenance, according to operator Shell , which has not said when the field would return. A spokeswoman for Total declined to comment on production from the Elgin-Franklin field, which returned from annual maintenance just over a week ago but has stopped sending any gas to the UK on Monday, according to data from network operator National Grid. At the same time, flows of the fuel used to produce more than a third of Britain’s electricity through the Theddlethorpe terminal in eastern England dropped to zero on Monday, from over 20 million cubic metres a day late last week, for two weeks of terminal maintenance, operator ConocoPhilips said. Centrica also said on Monday its South Morecambe gas field in the Irish Sea was shut over the weekend for annual maintenance expected to last until October 1. The BP-operated CATS gas pipeline, which reopened after lengthy repairs on Friday, was still flowing less than 5 million cubic metres a day, according to the website of network operator National Grid, compared to daily rates of around 15 mcm in April and early May. BP said last week flows would gradually be increased through early September because it had to patch the pipeline up after a ship’s anchor scratched it in late June. The big drop in Britain’s own production at the start of the week was partly made up for by a jump in Norwegian exports through the Langeled gas pipeline to Easington, eastern England. Those flows could be boosted further this month if Norway’s Ormen Lange field opens and starts sending gas to Britain before its official start date of October 1, traders say.

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