North Sea operator Neptune Energy is doing its bit to allay fears in the UK about potential blackouts this winter.
The company and its partners announced an extension of higher gas production from the Duva field in Norway on Thursday.
It will supply enough gas to heat a further 550,000 UK homes per day.
Norwegian authorities granted Neptune and the Duva licence partners a permit in April to temporarily increase gas production by 6,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) until September.
Under the new licence, the higher production rate will be maintained until the end of 2022.
Duva’s overall production is around 40 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (kboepd), of which 15 kboepd is natural gas.
Duva is tied back to the Neptune-operated Gjoa platform, and the gas is transported by pipeline to the UK’s St Fergus gas terminal.
Neptune Energy’s managing director in Norway, Odin Estensen, said: “We are pleased that we, together with our partners and in cooperation with Norwegian authorities, can maintain export of additional and much-needed volumes of gas to the UK this winter.”
News of the Neptune’s extension comes as fears about potential power outages in the UK this winter intensify.
For the first time in decades, planned blackouts may hit parts of the country if power plants can’t source enough gas to keep running.
The National Grid is encouraging households to “save money and back Britain” by using more energy during off-peak times.
While it insists blackouts are still “unlikely”, the National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) said on Thursday that households and businesses might face planned three-hour outages.
Electrified with hydropower from shore, CO2 emissions per barrel of oil equivalent on Gjoa are less than half the average on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
Duva is a subsea installation with three oil producers and one gas producer, tied back to the Neptune-operated semi-submersible platform.
