Undersea Gas Storage Plan Revealed

Imaginative plans to store natural gas deep under Larne Lough look set to go ahead.

If test bores carried out by two energy companies are successful, Northern Ireland Energy Holdings and Portland Gas hope to start storing gas there within a few years if their tests show the area to be suitable.

NI Energy Minister Nigel Dodds has welcomed the collaborative natural gas storage project in underground salt caverns.

After details of the project were made known - following completion of seismic studies of the geology in the Larne area which indicated significant potential for a gas storage facility - the Minister said: "This announcement significantly increases the prospect of an underground gas storage facility in East Antrim which could enhance the security of natural gas supply for Northern Ireland."

"There are also wide economic benefits to be gained by the introduction of gas storage, given the relatively small size of the Northern Ireland gas market, and high dependence on imported natural gas for power generation," he said.

Northern Ireland remains almost exclusively dependent on natural gas supplies from Great Britain and is therefore vulnerable in the event of a major mechanical failure or market circumstances leading to a reduction in gas supplies.

The project is therefore significant for the development and future security of supply for the gas network in Northern Ireland.

Minister Dodds concluded: "I look forward to seeing the results of the further geophysical studies which are planned and hearing more details of how this collaborative project will be progressed to the benefit of Northern Ireland consumers."

If the supply from the underwater gas pipeline from Scotland was cut off, NI would quickly run out.

So it's planned to store up to three months' supply in the huge salt deposits under Larne Lough, where it is anticipated that the underground caverns would be hollowed out by flushing the salt out with water.

The holes would then be filled with the natural gas piped in from Scotland.

The storage of gas underground is fairly common, but few places in the UK have suitable geological or rock formations to allow it to happen.

The technology and engineering involved is fairly straightforward so if it goes ahead, the scheme could be up and running within five or six years.

(BMcC)