UK to export gas to Netherlands via BBL pipeline from 2019

LONDON—The transportation of gas to the Netherlands from Britain through the BBL pipeline will be made possible for the first time from autumn 2019, according to operator BBL Co.

At present, gas can only physically be transported through the BBL from the Netherlands to Britain.

However, through modifications to the pipeline network at the compressor station at Anna Paulowna and the gas terminal at Bacton, it will be possible to transport gas from Britain to the Netherlands from the autumn of 2019.

"This will further strengthen trade between the two most liquid market areas in Europe, the Netherlands-based Title Transfer Facility (TTF) and the British National Balancing Point (NBP)," BBL Co. said.

The company also said there was demand for British gas exports in Europe, particularly during summer.

At present, more gas is produced and supplied to Britain from Norwegian pipelines, North Sea fields and LNG than is being sold.

However, seasonal storage facilities in Britain do not have enough capacity to store this surplus gas.

"The Netherlands and Germany have much more storage capacity than the UK. It is therefore expected that, during the summer months, there will be more demand for gas transportation capacity from the UK to the Netherlands, and in the opposite direction during the winter," said Luuk Feenstra, managing director of BBL Co.

(Reporting by Nina Chestney; editing by Adrian Croft and Mark Potter)

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