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Truss in talks with Norway to supply gas for 20 years

Prime Minister says she is ‘looking at’ deals around the world to ensure Britain’s energy security

By Rachel Millard and Matt Oliver

THE UK is in discussions with Norway about a two decade-long deal for gas supplies as countries across Europe scramble to secure power supplies.

Ministers are in talks with Norwegian counterparts about prices for a potential 20-year gas supply contract, Bloomberg reported.

Norway is already the UK’S largest supplier of gas, but there is growing competition for its output as countries across Europe cope with the loss of Russian supplies.

Ofgem, the energy regulator, warned earlier this week that there was a “significant risk” of gas shortages in Britain this winter. Severe shortages could see power stations that generate electricity from gas cut off, posing a risk to electricity supplies.

Senior energy bosses yesterday warned of risks to gas supplies next winter even if the continent manages to avoid a crisis this year, after stockpiling heavily in recent months.

Liz Truss, the Prime Minister, said ministers were “looking” at multi-year gas deals with Norway and around the world. She added: “I have not signed any deal. But what I’m saying is that Britain’s energy security is vital and what we will be doing is always looking for value for money, of course we will, but it’s important that we have that long-term energy security.”

Maddy Mcternan, the civil servant who led the Covid vaccine taskforce, was appointed last month to secure long-term contracts with domestic and international oil and gas producers.

Jacob Rees-mogg, the Business Secretary, also met with Saad Sherida Al-kaabi, the Qatari minister for energy affairs, in London yesterday.

Their talks covered “energy relations and co-operation between Qatar and the UK and means to enhance them,” according to a statement from stateowned energy company Qatar Energy. Countries around the world are trying to forge new energy partnerships following the disruption caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Russia is the world’s second largest gas producer and third largest oil producer, supplying about 40pc of Europe’s gas before its invasion.

It has drastically cut supplies to Europe since its invasion of Ukraine.

Surging prices have forced the Government to shield households and businesses from soaring bills, at an estimated cost to taxpayers of £65bn over the next six months.

Britain has been exporting record amounts of gas to Europe, acting as a “gas bridge” for imports from the US. Stocks are now well ahead of target, at about 89pc full in the EU, though shortages are still possible depending on the weather and availability of imports.

Ben Luckock, co-head of oil trading at Trafigura, warned of the difficulty of getting through winter without Russian

‘I have not signed any deal. Energy security is vital but what we will be doing is looking for value for money’

gas. “We may well avoid a disaster this winter; we are more concerned about the following winter,” he told the Energy Intelligence Forum in London.

Outages on France’s nuclear fleet have added to the stress on the energy system, as have low hydropower levels in Norway.

Yesterday, one of Germany’s biggest power grid operators warned that German electricity exports to France and other European allies may have to be halted this winter if the country’s network is pushed to the brink.

Hendrik Neumann, chief technical officer of Amprion, said a total halt or reduction in exports may be necessary if Germany faced its own electricity shortages.

He insisted the move would be a “last resort” and was only likely to be enacted for hours, rather than days, according to the

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2022-10-05T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-10-05T07:00:00.0000000Z

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Daily Telegraph