Section Menu

• Gas Infrastructure Projects Contacts

Gas Infrastructure Projects

In January 2006 the Secretary of State of the then Department of Trade and Industry announced a review of the current regulations for onshore gas supply infrastructure, in conjunction with the Energy Review and the Barker Review, with a view to updating those regulations where necessary.

In tabling a Written Ministerial Statement: Energy Statement of Need for Additional Gas Supply Infrastructure in the House of Commons on 16 May 2006, the Secretary of State confirmed the Government's intention to streamline and simplify the onshore consents regime and legislate to establish a bespoke regime to enable offshore gas supply infrastructure projects to go forward.

Publication of public information leaflets: July 2007

The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, in association with the Health and Safety Executive and British Geological Survey, launched two new information leaflets aimed at the general public regarding gas supply infrastructure:

• LNG imports in your area: your questions answered  (521KB)
  URN 07/1256
• Gas storage in your area: your questions answered  (532KB)
  URN 07/1257

They aim to give clear, straightforward answers to the questions most commonly asked of central and local Government and project developers by the general public in areas where applications for such developments are being made. The leaflets address the basics around natural gas and LNG, looking at aspects such as safety, environmental concerns, planning consents, and the siting of such facilities.

Offshore developments

In November 2006 the then DTI launched the Offshore Natural Gas Storage and Liquefied Natural Gas Import Facilities consultation, which considered the need for, and requested views on, changes to existing legislation with regard to the following activities:

• the storage of natural gas in non-hydrocarbon features (e.g. salt caverns);
• the storage of natural gas in hydrocarbon features (e.g. partially depleted oil and gas fields); and
• the unloading of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) offshore.

The consultation closed in February 2007. The Government response to the Offshore Natural Gas Storage and Liquefied Gas Import Facilities consultation (published with the Energy White Paper) recognised the widespread support to proposals to explicitly provide for new offshore gas storage and LNG unloading developments in legislation and set out the numerous benefits of adopting this type of approach, as stated by respondents. A new regulatory regime for offshore gas supply infrastructure will be included within Energy Bill, which is due before Parliament in the 2007/08 session.

Onshore developments

The Planning Bill was introduced on November 27th 2007 and seeks to put in place a new planning regime for all nationally significant infrastructure projects, including gas supply infrastructure. It will, if passed, streamline the consenting process for these projects, providing greater transparency, and therefore removing a disincentive to investment. The new scheme will broadly follow the path set below:

• A strategic stage - Ministers would publish national policy statements for infrastructure development, with public consultation;
• A project development stage - Local consultation would be carried out at the pre-application stage;

A decision stage - An infrastructure planning commission (IPC) would manage inquiries and determine individual applications.In addition to these medium term measures, the Government will shortly release final guidance on the Gas Act 1965, which must be used by any licensed gas transporter who wishes to undertake a gas storage project in a partially depleted oil or gas field. The legislation would be used in this case as opposed to the Town and Country Planning Act. The guidance is hoped to be of use to all interested parties.