Centrica in talks over reopening Rough gas storage facility off Yorkshire amid fears of looming energy shortages

Centrica is in "ongoing exploratory discussions" with the Government over the options for the Rough gas facility off Yorkshire's coast

The partially depleted Rough gas field is around 18 miles off the East Coast.

Its storage facility - which could hold around nine days’ supply of the UK’s gas- was mothballed in 2017 as being uneconomic to run.

But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused global supply problems and rocketing prices and now the energy firm has applied to the North Sea Transition Authority for a licence for gas storage.

Trade body Offshore Energies UK is posing the question: "Should the UK open more oil and gas fields?"

There are concerns that if Vladimir Putin cuts off supplies to Europe this winter, combined with low wind speeds, impacting electricity generation, could lead to energy shortages.

Reports suggest Rough could cost £2 billion to reopen, but could be up and running by September.

Centrica has previously put forward £1.6bn plans to transform the facility to hold low-carbon hydrogen fuel, saying a repurposed Rough “has the potential to provide around half of the UK’s hydrogen storage requirements”.

It said it was in "ongoing exploratory discussions" with the Government's business department over options for Rough and confirmed that in the longer term, the storage facility “will have an important role in the hydrogen economy”.

Deirdre Michie, chief executive of trade body Offshore Energies UK, said she hoped ministers would recognise the urgency of the situation and meet with them: “The UK gets 75 per cent of its total energy from oil and gas so the risk of energy shortages this winter, is clearly growing.

“The causes are largely outside the UK’s control, but the UK government can minimise these risks by planning ahead – starting now. That means engaging with the energy industry early to find ways of maximising UK supplies of gas and oil.

“We have called for an energy summit with the Chancellor and the Prime Minister to draw up those plans and this needs to happen soon because winter will not wait.”

Ms Michie said they needed clarity over the way the windfall tax would be implemented. The Government last month raised overall taxation on the profits of oil and gas producers from 40 to 65 per cent.

Around 95 per cent of Rough’s gas reserves have been recovered, and it currently accounts for around one per cent of the country’s daily output, according to GlobalData.