Lower quality gas to be piped into British homes

LOWER quality gas will be pumped into Britain’s homes to help boost North Sea production and ease the energy crisis.

Officials have agreed to relax rules so that gas with a lower calorific value can be allowed into the transmission system to be mixed with other supplies.

It should enable drillers to extract some gas that is otherwise left in the ground, although the measure will not be enacted until April 2025.

A spokesman for the Department for

Energy Security and Net Zero said the move was “a positive change contributing towards the UK’S energy independence”.

Leading North Sea producer Neptune Energy started calling for the change in late 2021 as gas prices started to climb amid global shortages. Neptune said in late 2021 that it could have produced 13pc more gas from its Cygnus field over the previous 12 months if the rule change had been in place.

Alan Muirhead, Neptune Energy’s UK country director, said it will “remove decades-old constraints on the energy industry”. He added: “It will enable Neptune to export more gas from our operated Cygnus gas facility in the UK southern North Sea, which is capable of supplying 6pc of the UK’S gas demand – enough to heat two million homes.”

A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive said: “We assessed the potential to widen the gas specification and we are satisfied that the changes can be made without adverse impacts on health and safety of users.”

Households are not expected to notice the difference.