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Stublach Gas Storage Project

GDF SUEZ has signed an agreement with INEOS Enterprises for the commercial development of a proposed salt cavern storage facility at Stublach in North-West England.
Total capacity could reach 400 million cubic meters of natural gas. The Group will operate the infrastructures under a 30 year lease agreement running until 2037. The first caverns will be commissioned in 2013. This new facility, which will be one of the main UK storage facilities, and will enhance the security of supply to the UK market. The total development investment budget is estimated at around £350 million (around €500 million).

This major operation gives GDF SUEZ the opportunity to extend its international storage portfolio in an expanding market. The UK gas market is the largest in Europe with a forecast growth of some 2% per year, and with imports of natural gas to increase as UK's North Sea production declines. This means that new gas storage capacity, which brings flexibility to manage security of supply, will develop rapidly. Currently, storage represents around 4% of annual consumption, as compared with 24% in France and 19% in Germany.

Storage is a crucial link in the gas chain. Europe is currently the part of the world that offers the greatest growth potential in this area: average storage capacity has been growing by more than 5% per annum since 1989, as compared with the world average of 1.7% over the same period. This pattern of growth underpins Storengy's drive to expand further in this sector, by improving existing sites, by creating new facilities and by acquiring European sites.

A storage facility with major advantages: 

Attractive technical characteristics The project, which is located in Cheshire, will be developed in three phases between 2013 and 2018, in up to 28 caverns. This makes it one of the largest salt cavern projects in Europe. At Stublach, the withdrawal and injection rates and the number of days required to empty the facility completely are also very favourable. An environmental friendly project INEOS, the world's third largest chemicals firm, created in 1997, will continue to be involved in the development of the facility. The technique used for the development of the caverns will be leaching, where the salt is dissolved by injecting water. Storengy UK will manage the injection process and the production of brine – a mixture of salt and water – Used by INEOS enterprises for industrial purposes. One of the few projects to have obtained all necessary consents Given the rapid growth in the gas market and the need for new gas storage, there are a number of projects in the pipeline. In November 2006, Cheshire County Council granted planning permission for the Stublach project, with the government giving its go-ahead in December 2006. The first phase of the Stublach gas storage facility is on track to commence cavity development in 2009 and to start gas operations in 2013.