Spirit extending lifespan of Morecambe Bay gas fields
Feb. 16, 2024
Centrica provides project updates on the Morecambe Bay gas fields offshore England and the Rough gas storage platform in the North Sea.
Courtesy Centrica
Centrica reopened the Rough gas storage facility in October 2022, after having significant engineering upgrades that summer and commissioning that autumn.
Courtesy Centrica
In May 2023, Spirit Energy and shareholders Centrica and Stadtwerke München GmbH were granted a carbon storage license by the North Sea Transition Authority, helping them in their goal of repurposing the North and South Morecambe gas fields for carbon capture and storage.
Offshore staff
WINDSOR, UK — Spirit Energy now expects to sustain production from the Morecambe Bay gas fields in the East Irish Sea off northwest England into the 2030s, owner Centrica said in a results statement.
Previous projections had been that production would cease around the middle of the current decade.
In the southern UK North Sea, Centrica doubled capacity at the re-opened Rough gas storage platform to 54 Bcf last June 2023, and it is working on plans to increase capacity further.
Ultimately, the company aims to convert Rough to a hydrogen storage facility, although any associated investment would be subject to an appropriate regulatory support mechanism.
