“We have now had time to consider the decision made by the Secretary of State to refuse consent for our plans to develop underground gas storage at Preesall, Lancashire.

“This outcome is made even more disappointing given the fact that our application was recommended for approval by the Planning Inspectorate, who spent nine months rigorously examining our proposals and making their recommendations to the Secretary of State.

“This is compounded by the fact that we had secured Statements of Common Ground with Lancashire County Council and Wyre Council who both stated that they had no concerns regarding geology, including the location of the proposed gas storage caverns and the potential impact of any seismic activity. In fact, both organisations have stated that ‘the revised assessment by the applicant is sufficient to demonstrate that there are salt deposits that could safely accommodate the creation of underground gas storage caverns’.

“Their reports go on to say that the safe storage of gas would then be a matter for Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) regulated by the Health & Safety Executive and state, ‘it is therefore concluded that the geology of the site in the area of the proposed caverns is capable of safely accommodating the proposed development’.

“Under section 118 of the Planning Act 2008, there is a process of appeal open to us in which the decision can be challenged by means of a claim for judicial review, and there is a period of six weeks in which this claim can be made to the High Court.

“Halite and its board continue to analyse the detail behind the decision, and we will consider our next course of action once this review has been completed.”

ENDS

Press enquiries to:

The Write Angle – 01772 450 990
Angela Smith – angela@writeanglepr.co.uk
Ryan Gibson – ryan@writeanglepr.co.uk

The post Statement from Halite Energy: review of decision by the Department of Energy & Climate Change appeared first on Halite Energy.

“We are extremely disappointed by this decision. Halite and its team of consultants have worked strenuously over the past three years, during which our application has been scrutinised through a rigorous planning process.

“We will now need time to examine the reasons behind the turn down carefully before deciding on our next steps.

“I would like to thank all those organisations that we have worked with during this process: the Planning Inspectorate, statutory consultees and the local community.”

ENDS

Press enquiries to:

The Write Angle – 01772 450 990
Angela Smith – angela@writeanglepr.co.uk
Ryan Gibson – ryan@writeanglepr.co.uk

The post Statement from Halite Energy: consent refusal by the Department of Energy & Climate Change appeared first on Halite Energy.

• pledge to maintain fiscal regime that encourages investment and innovation
• measures to boost supply chains and tackle engineering skills gap
• £7 million for new research facility

The Oil and Gas Industrial Strategy: Business and Government Action Plan has been published today to secure billions of pounds of future investment and thousands of jobs.

Tax certainty, supply chain support, and bridging skill gaps will provide continued growth, Business Secretary Vince Cable, Energy Secretary Ed Davey and Scottish Secretary Michael Moore will tell business leaders in Aberdeen.

Developed in partnership with industry, the strategy offers investment confidence and security by setting out a clear path to exploit the UK’s remaining resources and overcome an increasingly challenging production environment.

This follows the recent launch of the aerospace and nuclear strategies and is the next step in the government’s industrial strategy. Strategies for eleven key sectors will be completed in partnership with business in the coming months to secure sustainable future growth in the economy.

UK oil and gas production is vital for energy security and to the economy, employing over 400,000 people.

The action points and programmes already underway include the following:

• maintaining a fiscal regime that encourages investment and innovation in the UK Continental Shelf. This includes guarantees on tax relief for decommissioning as announced by the Treasury in last week’s budget
• developing the UK supply chain further so that UK supply chain firms can build on the £27 billion of revenues which they already generate in the UK. Fabrication has been identified as one area to target to ensure the UK remains competitive in domestic and international markets
• provision of specialist support from UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) to look at how the UK supply chain can increase exports in the sector, building on the increased funding of £140 million announced in the Autumn Statement to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) export abroad. This is to capitalise on high value opportunities in markets such as Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Australia
• filling the skills gap, which is seen as one of the biggest challenges facing the oil and gas industry, especially for SMEs. Work is underway to develop and match the skills needed within the industry and see how future or existing programmes can help

Addressing the skills shortage of mid-level career engineers. The industry expects it will require an additional 15,000 staff over the next 4-5 years across a range of disciplines. Government and industry will look at establishing a national programme to retrain ex-military personnel to enable them to be redeployed in the oil and gas industry. Ex-military personnel often have the skills the industry looks for and have successfully transitioned into the sector.

As part of this, £7 million has been given to Newcastle University through the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to establish the Neptune National Centre for Subsea and Offshore Engineering. The Neptune research and development centre will act as a place for industry and academia to interact, providing crucial infrastructure for emerging research opportunities. The Neptune Centre will also have a strong element of developing highly skilled graduates to help address key skill shortages.

• Encouraging more technological advancement through research and development, which will enable industry to better understand complex reservoirs, reduce drilling costs, improve efficiency and enhance production.
• Raising the profile of Britain’s growing oil and gas sector, to foster innovation and attract the best talent, including the imminent launch of an Oil & Gas UK campaign to raise awareness among the general public.
• Developing work between the financial services’ sector and industry to address challenges of access to finance. The government’s ‘business bank’ will help small and mid-sized businesses access finance including by communicating existing schemes.

Vince Cable and Ed Davey will also open a new facility at Expro, an offshore and technology services specialist in Aberdeen. To meet increasing business demand, the company has created more than 150 new jobs in the UK over the past year.

Ahead of the strategy launch, Business Secretary Vince Cable said:

“The oil and gas industrial strategy is the start of a real plan of action owned by industry and government. It is a strategy that all sides are committed to, so that future decades of investment and growth can be maintained in the North Sea.

An important part of this strategy is how we can develop the UK supply chain. I want us to consider what barriers are stopping British companies bidding for and winning work in the North Sea.

This is an expanding industry. We can either help create more jobs and opportunities across the UK if we get this right. Or see work going overseas if not.”

Vince Cable will also visit Shell and Global Energy, a specialist fabricator of bespoke energy equipment. The Business Secretary will learn more about Shell’s recent major acquisitions in the North Sea Oil as well as the role that Shell and Global Energy can play in helping the UK supply chain to compete more effectively with suppliers elsewhere in the world.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Edward Davey said:

“Even as we move to a low carbon economy, oil and gas will remain an integral part of the UK energy mix for decades to come.

The UK’s oil and gas industry is a vital strategic resource that helps fulfil our energy needs and insulates us from volatile global markets. By partnering with industry to support oil and gas investment offshore and onshore, the Coalition government aims to boost growth and enhance the UK’s energy security.

With our support for carbon, capture and storage, for decommissioning and by encouraging increased collaboration across different energy sectors, especially offshore, there will also be new sustainable growth opportunities for the industry and the wider UK supply chain.

So this strategy we are launching today will make sure we harness the natural resources available in a way that is both sustainable and profitable, for the industry, for the country and for the planet.”

Scottish Secretary Michael Moore said:

“Aberdeen boasts one of the finest oil and gas supply chains in the world. From the academic research that helps to ensure that Aberdeen remains at the heart of new technologies, to manufacture and servicing of machinery that supports this industry. We’ve made sure that this strategy encompasses the whole industry – to make sure we identify the measures that will benefit business, large, medium or small.

The UK government is firmly committed to using our global influence to help companies exploit opportunities and break down trade barriers. Safeguarding jobs and stimulating growth for the oil and gas supply chain in Aberdeen and rest of the UK. This strategy is about building on these success stories and exploiting other areas of expertise to ensure that we can continue to promote our industry at home and export our expertise around the world. When government works with industry, when we combine our efforts, we can achieve the very best for this sector.”

Last month trade body Oil & Gas UK said firms were planning investments totaling around £100 billion on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS). It is expected to rise to a record £14 billion in 2013, from £11.4 billion in 2012.

Malcolm Webb, Oil & Gas UK’s chief executive said:

“Close engagement with the UK government and the resulting tax changes introduced last year to promote investment in the oil and gas sector are now bearing fruit. Record investment is forecast this year to search for and produce UK oil and gas reserves. This will be followed by an upturn in production from 2014, sustaining growth across the supply chain and reinforcing the industry’s already significant contribution to the UK economy.

The launch of the government’s strategy for the sector is one more step in the right direction and brings deserved recognition to the capabilities of our world class supply chain.

The strategy fosters strong and meaningful collaboration between the government and industry and will help to focus efforts on addressing particular areas such as skills, technology and exports. It will further strengthen the oilfield services sector across the country, boost investor confidence, safeguard jobs and help to maximise recovery of Britain’s oil and gas reserves.”

While the launch will be in Aberdeen, Business Minister Michael Fallon will be visiting GE Oil and Gas in Newcastle – an oil and gas flexible pipeline specialist – to see how it will implement its Regional Growth Fund award.

The company was awarded £3 million through the Regional Growth Fund to increase its manufacturing capability and build on its leading offshore research role for liquefied natural gas market. This will create over 120 new jobs and safeguard over 80 existing posts.

Above all the strategy’s goal is to put government and industry on the right path to ensure future decades of investment and production in the North Sea. It seeks to maximise economic recovery of oil and gas from the UK Continental Shelf and support a dynamic supply chain which sustains high quality jobs in the UK.

Notes to Editors

1.The Oil and Gas sector strategy is part of three energy strategies; the other two are on nuclear and offshore wind. The proposals in this strategy will involve collaborative working with industry primarily through existing forums such as the Oil and Gas Industry Council and the Fiscal Forum. Work will continue closely with the Scottish government.

2.The government is committed to a proactive and long-term strategy which will focus on delivering economic growth and prosperity. The aim is to set a consistent, long-term approach to establishing partnerships with business, and focuses on three broad areas: advanced manufacturing, knowledge intensive traded services and enabling sectors.

3.The Oil and Gas sector is a vital part of the UK economy. It is the single largest industrial investor in the UK and contributes more to the Exchequer than any other sector (£11.5 billion in 2012 – over one fifth of the UK total). It employs over 400,000 people (including the wider supply chain).

4.Oil & Gas UK is the leading representative organisation for the UK offshore oil and gas industry. Its members, who number over 330, are companies licensed by the government to explore for and produce oil and gas in UK waters and those in the industry’s supply chain. For more information including requests for interviews with Oil & Gas UK, please contact Lucy Gordon on lgordon@oilandgasuk.co.uk or 01224 577331.

5.The government’s economic policy objective is to achieve ‘strong, sustainable and balanced growth that is more evenly shared across the country and between industries’. It set four ambitions in the ‘Plan for Growth’ (PDF 1.7MB), published at Budget 2011:

• to create the most competitive tax system in the G20
• to make the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a business
• to encourage investment and exports as a route to a more balanced economy
• to create a more educated workforce that is the most flexible in Europe.

Work is underway across government to achieve these ambitions, including progress on more than 250 measures as part of the Growth Review. Developing an Industrial Strategy gives new impetus to this work by providing businesses, investors and the public with more clarity about the long-term direction in which the government wants the economy to travel.

Article first published on Gov.uk

The post Oil and gas strategy will promote billions worth of new investment appeared first on Halite Energy.

The country risks running out of stored gas by April 8 based on the fall in its reserves seen since the cold hit at the beginning of March, Reuters calculations show.

Gas storage sites have been depleted by 90 percent, with the equivalent of less than two days’ consumption remaining, data from Gas Infrastructure Europe shows.

If the cold persists, as is forecast, the UK may need to cut gas supplies to some big industrial customers, as it did in 2010 at a time of severe gas shortages.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said it was monitoring the situation closely.

“Our market has spare import capacity built in. However, we take gas security and the risk of harmful price spikes seriously and monitor price and supply developments working closely with National Grid,” said Emily Towers, DECC’s spokeswoman responsible for energy supply and emergency planning.

“We are working with (the regulator) Ofgem to review our market arrangements …At the same time, we are diversifying our energy mix to reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels and putting in place policies to cut energy demand.”

The rapid depletion of gas storage sites has prompted operator Centrica, Britain’s biggest power and gas provider, to restrict withdrawals owing to falling reservoir pressure, in a sign of the growing strain on the system.

NORWAY MAINTENANCE

Centrica took action this week, restricting withdrawals from its Rough storage site, Britain’s largest, to 37 million cubic metres per day (mcm) from 42 mcm.

Traders expect further withdrawal restrictions over the coming days but said this may not be sufficient to stop the depletion if the cold persists.

Supplier Norway expects to idle around 40 mcm of its offshore gas infrastructure for maintenance from April 1, piling further pressure on Britain’s gas market.

A core problem is that Britain has far less gas storage capacity than its peers – 15 days’ worth of demand when full versus more than 100 days’ worth in France and Germany.

“The lack of incentives for storage investment appears indicative of the UK’s wider gas sector, where investors currently see regulatory risk as an insurmountable hurdle,” said Roderick Bruce, analyst at IHS Global Insight.

UK PLANTS CLOSING

There has also been a shortage in investment in power generation, and ageing British coal plants that have exhausted their operating lives are being closed, further constraining energy supply.

Scottish Power’s 1,200 megawatt (MW) Cockenzie power station near Edinburgh stopped operating after 45 years of service this month.

The British subsidiary of Germany‘s RWE will shut its 2,000-MW Didcot facility for good this month as well.

There is also little relief seen in the weather forecast, with temperatures to remain below seasonal norms until at least mid-April, weather analysts at Thomson Reuters Point Carbon said. (see chart)

Britain’s Met Office has warned of “cold or very cold” weather into next week, while northern Britain “may possibly experience colder than average conditions during April with a risk of overnight frosts and perhaps further snowfall”.

PRICE SPIKES

Wholesale gas prices in Britain have spiked to near-record highs in March as traders fear supply disruptions.

“We are already importing at record levels from Norway and continental Europe, and there is not a lot of LNG that could fill the gap in the short-term,” one UK-based gas trader said.

While the high gas prices could attract additional shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG), ships from Qatar, the world’s top LNG exporter, take around two weeks to reach Britain.

Two LNG tankers are scheduled to arrive in Britain by the end of the month, but traders said more would be needed.

“We need more gas, it’s that simple, but any Qatari supplies sent now would come too late to address the current shortage,” another gas trader said. “The only hope is to receive re-exports from somewhere in Europe where gas demand is not currently so high.”

Spanish and Italian LNG terminals have previously re-exported LNG cargoes, but temperatures in Spain and Italy are unusually low there, too.

(Additional reporting by Oleg Vukmanovic; editing by Jason Neely)

Article first published on Reuters

The post Britain faces gas supply crisis as storage runs dry appeared first on Halite Energy.

Ed Davey told the House of Commons the French energy firm EDF would be allowed to build two new nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset, on the site of an existing power station, which is due to close in 2023.

“It’s vital to get investment in new infrastructure to get the economy moving,” Davey said. “[Hinkley] will generate vast amounts of clean energy and enhance our energy security. It will benefit the local economy, through direct employment, the supply chain and the use of local services.”

The two 1.6-gigawatt reactors will become one of the biggest power plants in the UK, providing enough electricity for up to 5m average homes. The nuclear plant is expected to be the first in a series of new ones the coalition has proposed as part of its plans to replace ageing coal and nuclear facilities that are due to be closed over the next few years.

However, the symbolic decision on planning permission still leaves Davey’s department for energy and climate change and EDF locked in negotiations over how much subsidy the company will get during the life of the plant. It is thought officials are discussing a contract that would guarantee the French company being paid nearly £100 for each megawatt hour of electricity produced over 30 to 40 years.

Under the system, called “contracts for difference“, if the market price, which is about half that level, is lower than the agreed minimum “strike price”, electricity suppliers will have to pay the difference by making a surcharge on customer bills; if the market price rises higher, then the company would forfeit the difference.

EDF and government officials also have to agree how much the company will pay for long-term storage of nuclear waste. “Discussions on both those are on going and intense, but I expect them to be concluded shortly,” Davey said.

Critics say the subsidies will cost bill-payers at least £1bn a year, pointing out that a strike price of nearly £100 would be higher than all but the highest of the government’s forecasts for future electricity prices up to 2030, and in opposition to a host of government policies designed to reduce that price.

However, ministers believe the contracts for difference, available for all low-carbon power, will help develop a variety of energy sources including renewable energy as offshore wind, nuclear, new gas plants and, in future, carbon capture and storage equipment fitted to gas and coal plants. These sources would make the UK more resilient to fluctuating power prices, and reduce the carbon emissions on which climate change is blamed.

Davey declined more than once to comment on the negotiations, but added: “When the deal is concluded we will be completely transparent on that deal, whether it’s on the strike price, the length [of the contract] or other details.”

There are additional concerns that when a deal is agreed with EDF,  the European commission could launch an inquiry into the subsidies, which would qualify as state aid. That would delay the project by at least 18 months. EDF would then have to begin finding funding of up to £14bn to pay for construction of the turbines.

Approval has been granted for the design of the EPR (European Pressurised Reactor) reactor, and the Environment Agency last week agreed to the environmental permits needed.

Building the reactors is expected to create 20,000-25,000 construction jobs, and 900 permanent jobs when the plant opens.

Katja Hall, the CBI chief policy director, said: “This is a big step forward on a critical energy infrastructure scheme. Major projects like this not only help us to overcome our energy challenges, but provide a real boost to growth, creating thousands of jobs directly and through the supply chain. A balanced energy mix is essential in order to ensure secure, low-carbon and affordable supply in the future, and new nuclear is a key part of this.”

Keith Allott, chief adviser on climate change at WWF-UK, a wildlife protection group, said: “Backing nuclear means shifting a huge liability to British taxpayers for the cost of building, electricity and, crucially, dealing with the waste.

“Unlike renewable energy, the costs of nuclear keep on rising, as witnessed by the fact that the only reactors currently being built in Europe are massively over-budget and far behind schedule. Focusing on renewables and energy efficiency, on the other hand, where the UK has huge potential to be an industrial leader, could deliver both huge cost reductions and a substantial boost to UK economic growth and manufacturing.”

The most recently built nuclear plant in Britain is Sizewell B, which was constructed in 1995.

Article first published on The Guardian

The post New nuclear power station gets planning consent appeared first on Halite Energy.

The spike in prices underscored Britain’s growing reliance on gas from Norway  and the lack of availability of liquefied natural gas imports from countries  such as Qatar. It came with gas storage levels heavily depleted because of  below-average winter temperatures.

Gas for same-day delivery rose more than 50 per cent to 115 pence a therm on  Monday, the highest price since 2006.

The increase will fuel fears that UK households could be hit with even higher  energy bills. The average dual-fuel bill has more than doubled over the past  nine years, from £522 in 2004 to £1,352 this year, according to uSwitch.com,  with the UK’s “Big Six” energy suppliers blaming the increase on the rising  price of wholesale gas.

But National Grid denied there was a supply problem. “The  market worked as it should, with supplies brought in from other places – storage, LNG and imports from the continent,” it said. “The market is back in  balance.”

The immediate cause of Monday’s rise was a power outage at the Nyhamna plant  in northern Norway, which processes gas pumped from the country’s vast offshore  Ormen Lange field. Ormen Lange, operated by Royal Dutch Shell, is a key source of gas for the UK.  At Nyhamna it is fed into the Langeled pipeline, which supplies both the UK and  continental Europe.

The Norwegian pipeline operator, Gassco AS, said production at Nyhamna was  down by 53m cubic metres a day and would be down 37m cm/d on Tuesday. UK total  gas demand stands at 304.6m cm/d.

Another factor behind the price rise was an outage at the Cormorant Alpha  gasfield in the North Sea, which experienced a hydrocarbon leak over the  weekend. That led to a drop in gas supplies from the field to the St Fergus  terminal in Scotland.

The two outages were exacerbated by low gas storage levels, which some market  observers worry are too low to cope with any prolonged shortfall in supply. Gas  has been heavily drawn down in recent weeks as the cold winter weather  persists.

For example, the Rough long-range storage facility off the coast of  Yorkshire, which is operated by Centrica, is only 17 per cent full, according to Andrew  Horstead, risk analyst at Utilyx. In addition, the country’s medium-range  facilities only have seven days’ worth of gas left, he said.

Another factor is the lack of availability of LNG, which would normally make  up for any supply gap. In recent months, LNG cargoes that might otherwise have  found their way to the UK have been diverted to more attractive markets in South  America, the Middle East and Asia, where spot prices are higher than in Europe.

Mr Horstead said LNG inflows into the UK have averaged 5m cm/d in recent  weeks, when in past winters past they were typically 120m cm/d.

“Today’s price spike emphasises the UK’s growing reliance on gas imports,” he  said. “The UK is going to have to pay a premium price for LNG if it’s going to  be able to attract it to our shores.”

Article first published on Financial Times

The post UK natural gas prices reach seven-year high appeared first on Halite Energy.

During routine checks, the rangers came across two piles of fly tipped rubbish on Back Lane, which posed a danger to oncoming traffic. Using their own initiative, the rangers quickly cleared the road allowing vehicles to pass safely.

After contacting the council, the rubbish was swiftly removed. The rangers were praised for their efforts, and Halite would just like to thank the rangers for their quick thinking.

Our security rangers are tasked with a number of important duties, including protecting the environment and, more recently, educating the public about local wildlife.

Read more about the ranger training courses being run by Lancashire Wildlife Trust

The post Halite rangers prevent fly-tipping appeared first on Halite Energy.

26 February 2013

Halite Energy has produced the following statement in relation to two articles that have appeared in The Blackpool Gazette on 23 and 25 February 2013.

Response to: ‘Gas Firm’s Green Light in Huge Pipeline Bid’

The article that appeared in the 23 February 2013 edition of The Blackpool Gazette, under the headline ‘Gas firm’s green light in huge pipeline bid’, contained errors that should be corrected.

The article reported that the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has now issued a certificate in relation to some land interests that would be needed for the Halite project if it is approved. That is correct. But it is not correct to say that this certificate relates to all land covered by the compulsory purchase order applied for, nor that it gives the “green light” for the project, nor that it even implies the project will be approved when a decision on it is made within the next couple of months.

The certificate in question relates only to the small parts of the CPO land that are areas of open space. Both Government and Planning Inspectorate guidance notes advise that such a certificate should be applied for before the application for the rest of the project is made. That is what happened in this case. Throughout the public examination, the Inspectors were asking about progress with the certificate application. It is therefore not correct that (as the article concludes) “Halite should have waited for the Planning Inspectorate’s decision before applying…”, nor that Halite are “trying to give the impression they’ve already got it [approval for the scheme]”.

Halite recognises that its proposals for an underground gas storage at Preesall continue to attract a lot of public interest and that the views of the community remain polarised. However, in this instance Halite has simply endeavoured to follow guidelines laid down by the Planning Inspectorate. A Development Consent Order (DCO) cannot be made by the Secretary of State without this certificate, and the planning guidance requires developers to apply for it before they make the DCO application.

Response to : ‘I’ll Not Let Gas Firm Knock My House Down’

This article appeared in The Blackpool Gazette on 25 February 2013 and contains a series of inaccuracies.

Halite is not, and never has been, applying to compulsorily purchase any homes or gardens to accommodate the brine pipeline at Fleetwood.

The proposed brine pipeline will run along the back of the properties on South Strand, Fleetwood, but the work will not encroach on their land. These residents were part of a wider consultation exercise that took place as part of the statutory consultation process in 2011. At no time in this consultation was compulsory purchase raised.

The second paragraph of the article states: “American firm Halite sent shockwaves through South Strand when they were granted a Development Consent Order (DCO) by the Secretary of State to build a pipeline running from Over Wyre to Rossall”. This statement is wholly incorrect. Halite has not been granted a DCO to build a brine pipeline or any other part of its scheme. The decision on the DCO is not expected until April 2013. The open space certificate (referred to in the article of 23 February 2013) does not grant Halite permission to build anything. It would simply allow for the confirmation of compulsory purchase powers for the laying of the brine discharge pipeline and electricity cable over the small number of locations that constitute open space, principally the foreshore at Rossall, if the Secretary of State makes the DCO.

In relation to the letters referred to in the third paragraph of the article, Halite has not issued letters to residents of South Strand since the consultation of 2011. Halite has never issued letters that inform these residents that they will purchase their land to allow building work to take place. The article also refers to a Mr Mawdsley receiving notice of a compulsory purchase order. Whatever notice Mr Mawdsley may have received did not come from Halite or its consultants and is nothing to do with our project.

In response to the comment from Anton Maree of Rossall School, the proposed pipeline will carry brine, not gas.

Halite has worked closely with statutory bodies to ensure its proposals, including the construction of the brine pipeline, have minimum environmental impact.

Halite wishes to reassure the residents of Fleetwood that there are not, and never will be, plans to compulsorily purchase their homes or gardens in order to build its project. The brine pipeline referred to in the article is a standard 36” pipe that would run underground. Once the construction of the pipeline, which will take seven months to complete, has been undertaken, there will be no disturbance to local residents.

ENDS

Media enquiries to:

The Write Angle, 01772 450990
Angela Smith – angela@writeanglepr.co.uk
Ryan Gibson – ryan@writeanglepr.co.uk

The post Response to articles in The Blackpool Gazette appeared first on Halite Energy.

Lancashire Wildlife Trust has teamed up with the Halite Energy Group, in Preesall, to help with some of the main wildlife initiatives underway in the area.

Halite wants to develop 19 purpose-built underground gas storage chambers in the area and LWT hopes, if the project gets planning permission, the training will help safeguard wildlife.

A spokesman for the wildlife trust said: “Security staff are active on Halite’s land every day and they can play a great role in helping to look after and enhance the wildlife in the area.

“Monitoring wildlife is crucial to this, and understanding where there are opportunities to reduce pressure so that more can be done.

“We hope that the rangers will pick up a variety of skills that can be used to support wildlife conservation in the
wider area.”

Article first published in the Lancashire Evening Post

The post Security staff learn to walk on the wild side appeared first on Halite Energy.

The final two caverns at Eon’s 160 million cubic metre gas facility entered operation earlier this month, completing the final stage of development at the site.

Jo Vizor, manager director, Eon Gas Storage UK said: “This is a real landmark day for E.ON’s UK gas storage business.

“The team has done a fantastic job in creating and delivering a modern fast churn storage facility that makes a real contribution to balancing the UK daily gas market.”

Construction work on the project began in 2006 with the installation of the brine and water infrastructure and the first three caverns became operational in December 2011.

Article first published on Utility Week

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