Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will direct the Oil and Gas Authority under the provisions of the Energy Act 2016 in the public interest to consider the decision to close the Rough gas storage facility.

There has been significant investment in the UK’s natural gas supply infrastructure over the last decade. As a result we benefit from highly diverse and flexible sources of natural gas, including: production from the North Sea; six international gas pipelines with Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands; three Liquefied Natural Gas terminals that can bring gas from anywhere in the world; and a number of modern, responsive gas storage facilities. On this basis I do not consider it appropriate to invoke the provisions under Section 8 of the Energy Act 2016. The Department has recently undertaken a full strategic assessment of our long-term gas security, and we will publish this in due course.