tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32841798.post867311264992608446..comments2024-03-28T22:45:51.014+00:00Comments on Capitalists@Work: How Gazprom is Learning to Love the MarketCityUnslickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929544047783163175noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32841798.post-72703293214327640762010-01-15T16:49:43.639+00:002010-01-15T16:49:43.639+00:00Paul your point is well made - additional large-sc...<b>Paul</b> your point is well made - additional <i>large-scale</i> storage would help; & with the UK's geology this means offshore<br /><br />(the projects you read about that are having difficulties getting planning permission are onshore, tiny & of little consequence) <br /><br />large + offshore = very expensive, and very demanding on the geology - there aren't many candidates (every gas field that's been abandoned in the N.Sea has been examined carefully for storage potential, because no-one wants to abandon a field: that's expensive too)<br /><br />there are no subsidies for storage so it's down to the economics (= developer's view on future price seasonality & volatility) and so far no second offshore storage project has gone ahead<br /><br />(Belgium is the same: no suitable geology for largescale storage)<br /><br />in these circumstances, <i>given that there is a surplus of storage in Europe as a whole</i>, the obvious solution is for the UK to use this, like Belgium, by exporting in summer and importing in winter (which is what we've been doing since the Interconnector opened in 1998) - but this depends on the continental markets being open so that the import leg of the cycle can be relied upon <br /><br />and that's been the flaw - until this year !Nick Drewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13670594203660051701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32841798.post-81514542638503558912010-01-15T13:04:37.175+00:002010-01-15T13:04:37.175+00:00Nick,
As an avid follower of these posts, I know h...Nick,<br />As an avid follower of these posts, I know have to ask if there should be a "d" to your post - that of storage? IIRC, you've made the point previously that we have days rather then months worth of storage capacity.<br /><br />If we had greater storage capacity would this help protect us from price spikes as we could choose the time of buying as opposed to making sure we have enough for the short-term capacity that currently exists?<br /><br />cheers,<br />PaulPaulnoreply@blogger.com