The BBL pipeline will export gas from the UK to the Netherlands from autumn 2019.
The BBL pipeline currently only transports gas from the Netherlands to the UK but it has been announced that modifications will be made to send gas in both directions.
From autumn 2019, the compressor station at Anna Paulowna and the gas terminal at Bacton will be modified so that the UK can send exports to Holland. The changes will be made to encourage trade between two of Europe’s most liquid markets, the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) and the British National Balancing Point (NBP).
According to the pipeline’s operators, BBL Company, there is demand for UK exports in mainland Europe, particularly during the summer months.
Managing Director of BBL Company, Luuk Feenstra said: “At the moment, in the summer months, more gas is being collectively produced in and supplied to the UK (via Norwegian pipelines, from the North Sea fields and in the form of LNG) than is being sold.
“Seasonal storage facilities in the UK have insufficient capacity to store this surplus gas, partly due to the decommissioning of the Rough storage, which used to be Britain’s largest gas storage facility.”
Unlike the UK, the Netherlands and Germany have a great deal of storage capacity and demand for gas transportation during summer will be high, while demand in the UK is expected to be stronger in winter.
In other news, the Forties Pipeline will be closed for around 2 weeks due to emergency repairs which is expected cost the industry an estimated £20m a day. Read more here.