With European countries facing the prospect of Russia cutting off gas exports, Britain’s plan to close pipelines to the Netherlands and Belgium risk undermining the impetus for international energy co-operation. The shutdown of the so-called interconnection pipelines would be one of the first steps in the UK’s gas contingency plan, which could be activated by the National Grid if supplies fall short in the coming months. European gas companies have called on the UK to work with the EU and warned that disabling interconnections could boomerang if prolonged shortages arise. Britain imports large quantities of natural gas from the continent at the height of winter. “I would definitely recommend them [the UK] reconsider disconnecting the interface [in the event of a crisis]Said Bart Jan Hoevers, president of the European Network of Gas Transmission System Operators, a powerful group whose members include Italy’s Snam and Belgium’s Fluxys. “Because while it is good for the continent in the summer, it is also good for the UK in the winter.” The United Kingdom will test its emergency plan for gas shortages in September. The National Grid said the plan was being tested annually, adding that the latest exercise would “reflect conditions” as Russia cuts gas exports to Europe. The pipelines will be cut as part of a four-step emergency plan if there was a severe shortage of supplies leading to a loss of pressure in the gas system. Other emergency measures include shutting down supplies to large industrial users and calling on households to reduce consumption. Germany and the Netherlands launched their own contingency plans this month, restarting coal plants and urging industry to cut back on gas use after cuts in gas exports from Russia. Since March, two submarines connecting Britain with Belgium and the Netherlands have been operating at full capacity, exporting 75 million cubic meters of gas a day to the continent as Europe rushes to create storage space in the face of further Russian cuts. The UK has minimal gas storage capacity, so surplus supplies, including imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo, are shipped to the mainland when demand is low during the summer months. But during very cold winter seasons, such as the “Beast from the East” storm in 2018, the United Kingdom has received up to 20-25 percent of its gas through its two-way connections with EU countries, according to analysts. Hoevers warned that most countries’ emergency protocols were inadequate to respond to a geopolitical crisis because they were originally designed to deal with “short-term disruptions” such as a malfunction in a gas field or import terminal, not a prolonged loss of supply. . “Across Europe, ‘political regulation is needed to know what we can expect from each other as neighbors in the event of a serious crisis,’” he said. The UK government has said it is “fully confident” in the security of its winter energy supply, claiming it has “one of the most reliable and diverse energy systems in the world”. He said he believed a gas emergency was “extremely unlikely”. Additional references by Jim Pickard in London and Joe Miller in Berlin LNG is imported into the United Kingdom and then shipped to the EU via the © Jason Alden / Bloomberg pipeline. Bacton Gas Terminals – natural gas goes from here to Zeebrugge in Belgium © Jason Alden / Bloomberg
