Britain Now Imports 50% of its Gas

[Chris Coles]

From The Times, London, October 2, 2009

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/to...MC-Bltn=CFKEIB

Britain to rely on imports for half winter gas

Robin Pagnamenta, Energy Editor

"Half of the gas used by British families to heat their homes this winter will be imported from overseas, the highest proportion on record, as production from the North Sea continues its steep decline, National Grid said last night.
In its annual Winter Outlook, on the state of Britain’s energy supplies, National Grid said production of the fuel from the UK sector of the North Sea would be 6 per cent lower this year than in 2008-09. That will leave Britain having to import 50 per cent of its gas supplies from countries such as Norway, Qatar, Trinidad and Algeria, a sharp rise from 27 per cent in 2007.
A spokesman for Centrica, owner of British Gas, said the UK’s ageing gas fields — many first tapped in the 1970s and 1980s — were no longer able to keep pace with domestic demand. “On the current trajectory we will have to import three quarters of our gas by 2015,” he said. Britain was still a net exporter of gas as recently as 2003 and was forced to import about 5 per cent of supplies in 2004 for the first time."

What makes this particularly interesting is that the decline has been so sharp, just five years from nett exporter to 50% import.

[Mega]

Re: Britain Now Imports 50% of its Gas

F*ck!

Mike

[mooncliff]

Re: Britain Now Imports 50% of its Gas

Time to superinsulate houses, install triple-glazed windows, and evacuated tube solar water heaters.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009...-residents.php

They seem to work in New England, so they should work in old England? The freezing problem has been solved.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009...tovoltaics.php

The Chinese are manufacturing them and installing them by the millions.

We have had a Solahart thermosiphon solar water heater for 30 years. Still works fine and has saved us $30,000 so far... so now I can use that money to install photovoltaics.

[halcyon]

Re: Britain Now Imports 50% of its Gas

And it's only going to get worse:

Daddy, will the lights be on at Christmas?


http://www.theoildrum.com/node/3401

UK truly is in dire straits in the next 5-10 years.

[mooncliff]

Re: Britain Now Imports 50% of its Gas

We deeply appreciate Mega and his kin pumping all the oil and gas out of the North Sea in just a couple of decades to put OPEC in its place and bankrupt the Soviets, but it does seem to have been a waste to pump it all out quite so fast and to sell it for 10 or 20 dollars a barrel.

Mexico is in the same boat. Some advisers are telling them to cut exports to zero now or else they will be net importers even sooner.

http://www.bnamericas.com/news/priva...2017_-_analyst

Pemex forecasts are just masterpieces of comedy. Wrong every single time over the last decade. I know delusional people who always pick the most optimistic outcome, no matter how unlikely.

[Mega]

Re: Britain Now Imports 50% of its Gas

Hi Moon
Strangly Am going to enjoy the Fall of Blighty, if fuel cost rocket & Mr & Mrs Brit can't demand more wages, well its Bye Bye BMW........

Also the house price crash will gain pace..........

Mike

[lurker]

Re: Britain Now Imports 50% of its Gas

We have had a Solahart thermosiphon solar water heater for 30 years. Still works fine and has saved us $30,000 so far... so now I can use that money to install photovoltaics.

I'm not sure how you made those savings. We have gas central heating and a gas water heater. Summer gas bills are about $50 a month, so that's indicative of our water heating costs (the water heater is in a warm location, so not subject to tremendous fluctuation during the year).

From treehugger.com:

"Eco-geek suggests that "First, installation can cost more than $5,000 dollars, especially in older houses. Second, new home buyers apparently don't like to see solar water heaters disrupting their "roof lines." "

Spending 5 grand to save $50 a month is a pretty hard proposition for me to consider. I'd love to do it, but whichever way I look at it spare savings are better spent reducing my mortgage than solar panels / new windows (that will be in a landfill in 15 yrs when they fog).

The ROI on many of these green home improvements just isnt' there yet IMO.

[lurker]

Re: Britain Now Imports 50% of its Gas

Strange they didn't mention Russia as the source of some UK gas. Do Russian pipelines not supply the UK, via mainland Europe ?

Energy independance equals national security as far as I'm concerned (as is food self-sufficiency).

But perhaps it was all worth it to put the pesky NUM and Arthur Scargill in its place.

[thunderdownunder]

Re: Britain Now Imports 50% of its Gas

I seem to remember that not only did they sell the liquid gold for a pittance they also "wisely" dumped the physical gold for a staggering $200/ounce.
Good and wise council is so hard to find in a World of Greed.
Short term gain for longterm pain = penury ( a cramping and oppressive lack of resources (as money); especially : severe poverty)

on the bright side you could hang a shingle as a "relocation agent":rolleyes:

[mooncliff]

Re: Britain Now Imports 50% of its Gas

I'm not sure how you made those savings. We have gas central heating and a gas water heater. Summer gas bills are about $50 a month, so that's indicative of our water heating costs (the water heater is in a warm location, so not subject to tremendous fluctuation during the year).

From treehugger.com:

"Eco-geek suggests that "First, installation can cost more than $5,000 dollars, especially in older houses. Second, new home buyers apparently don't like to see solar water heaters disrupting their "roof lines." "

Spending 5 grand to save $50 a month is a pretty hard proposition for me to consider. I'd love to do it, but whichever way I look at it spare savings are better spent reducing my mortgage than solar panels / new windows (that will be in a landfill in 15 yrs when they fog).

The ROI on many of these green home improvements just isnt' there yet IMO.

We don't have natural gas service in Hawaii. Everything is electric. A typical electric bill is $200 dollars a month, of which about half is for the water heater. The Solahart has so far lasted 30 years, and has saved roughly $1,000 per year. Last year, electricity spiked to 30 cent a kilowatt hour. I look at it as a $5,000 investment that returns $1,000 per year, or 20% annual return, no tax.

"Spending 5 grand to save $50 a month is a pretty hard proposition for me to consider."
Sure, there may be better ways to spend the $5,000, depending on individual circumstances. But a $5,000 dollar investment returning $50 a month would be a $600 annual return (assuming energy prices do not go up, which I think they will), which if earned other ways would be subject to some kind of capital gains tax or something, so that would be really more like a return of $700 per year. That is like a 14% annual return. The installation is of course highly variable, but it may be possible to install on the back roof of the house or on garage, making it nearly invisible. My photovoltaics are going on the roof sloping away from the street, so will be completely invisible from the street.

Is the service life so poor that people expect windows to fog in 15 years?

[mooncliff]

Re: Britain Now Imports 50% of its Gas

http://www.independent.co.uk/money/s...y-1796916.html

I suppose if you have a water heater with a tank and it is cold most of the time, at least the escaping energy is heating the house.

Almost all residential hot water in Japan is by tankless line heaters. They basically use half the energy that a tank water heater would. Since they have no tank, there is no loss of heat from the water sitting in the tank. Usually, water heaters lose half of their heat from the water just sitting there and the heat escaping from the tank and the pipes. Tankless heaters have come way down in price, and the control panel talks (but only in Japanese) in case you are visually impaired. You can set the water temperature from 37 C to 70 C, by the degree. You never run out of hot water.


Speaking of which, if you want to know how obsessively energy efficient Japan can be...

The washing machine is usually in or near the bathroom, so you just toss your clothes in when you are going to bathe. No carrying clothes to the laundry room.

The tankless water heater has a setting for you to fill the tub for a good hot soak, which is great in the winter. When the tub is full, the heater panel beeps and the water turns off automatically.

Then you take a shower, and when you are clean, get in the tub for a soak.

Then you cover the tub with a cover and leave it overnight like that. The heat in the water will warm the apartment during the night.

Japanese washing machines often have hoses to draw water from the bath. You put the end of the hose in the bathtub and push a button, and the washing machine will use water from the tub rather than drawing new water from the tap.

So in the winter, almost all of the energy used to heat the water for the bath is used to warm the apartment or for a warm water clothes washing.

[GRG55]

Re: Britain Now Imports 50% of its Gas

Strange they didn't mention Russia as the source of some UK gas. Do Russian pipelines not supply the UK, via mainland Europe ?

Energy independance equals national security as far as I'm concerned (as is food self-sufficiency).

But perhaps it was all worth it to put the pesky NUM and Arthur Scargill in its place.

Most of the UK's imported natural gas comes from Norway and the Netherlands.

As for the NUM and Scargill, a good number of the pits that were deemed uneconomic and closed during the Thatcher years are now flooded, and its likely those coal reserves are lost for good.

[mooncliff]

Re: Britain Now Imports 50% of its Gas

Most of the UK's imported natural gas comes from Norway and the Netherlands.

As for the NUM and Scargill, a good number of the pits that were deemed uneconomic and closed during the Thatcher years are now flooded, and its likely those coal reserves are lost for good.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/22/bu....13114394.html
But after decades of seemingly terminal decline, Japan's coal country is stirring again. With energy prices reaching record highs — oil rose above $135 a barrel on Thursday — Japan's high-cost mines are suddenly competitive again, and demand for their coal is booming. Production has jumped to its highest in nearly four decades, creating a sensation rarely felt in these mining communities: hope.

"We are seeing a flicker of light after long darkness," said Michio Sakurai, the mayor of Bibai, on Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido. "We never imagined coal would actually make a comeback."

Soaring commodity prices have had distorting effects across the global economy, driving up food prices and prompting fears of future energy shortages. But they have been an unanticipated boon to the coal producing regions of countries like Japan that had written off coal mining as a relic of the Industrial Revolution.

[hayekvindicated]

Re: Britain Now Imports 50% of its Gas

Hi Moon
Strangly Am going to enjoy the Fall of Blighty, if fuel cost rocket & Mr & Mrs Brit can't demand more wages, well its Bye Bye BMW........

Also the house price crash will gain pace..........

Mike

LOL!! Mike, you must really hate BMW!

[Mega]

Re: Britain Now Imports 50% of its Gas

I love BMW, but i HATE all the worthless SCUM whom they lease-hired them to. In time, when the £ CRASH & Burns then BMW will sell only a handful to "The right people"...............The SCUM will be driving Chevy Cruze with 100 BHP 3 pot engines !
Mike