To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many days’ supply of gas the UK has storage capacity for; and what proposals his Department has to increase this. (224730)

I have been asked to reply.

National Grid has stated in its Winter Energy Outlook, published on 2 October 2008, that the UK has the following assumed storage capacities and deliverability levels for 2008-09:

4.2 days (at full rate) of short range storage from LNG (liquefied natural gas) delivering 49 million cubic meters per day (mcm/d);

18.5 days (weighted average duration) of medium range storage delivering 49 mcm/d;

78.1 days (at full rate) of long range storage from the former Rough field in the North sea delivering 42 mcm/d.

Existing gas storage capacity is some 4.5 bcm (billion cubic metres). National Grid also indicated in their 10 year statement 2007, that a further 0.6 bcm is under construction and 5.4 bcm is proposed for the early years of the next decade. Reforming the onshore and offshore consents regimes through the Planning and Energy Bills respectively is intended to facilitate the development of new projects.