UK terminal problem stops Norwegian gas

By Daniel Fineren and Nao Nakanishi

LONDON (Reuters) - A technical problem at the Easington gas import terminal in eastern England stopped gas from Norway's Langeled pipeline from flowing into Britain early on Monday, according to the terminal and pipeline operators.

Langeled, the longest subsea gas pipeline in the world, had been supplying nearly a fifth of Britain's gas before the shutdown in the early hours of Monday morning.

"The terminal has experienced a technical trip this morning," said a spokesman for Centrica (CNA.L) which operates the Easington facility in eastern England.

He could not say how long the terminal would be shut but a spokesman for Norwegian gas pipeline operator Gassco said the problem might be fixed by the end of the day.

National Grid data showed imports into Britain through the pipeline dropped from about 47 million cubic metres (mcm) a day to zero at just before 5:00 a.m. on Monday.

Despite the sharp drop in flows the UK gas network remained well supplied with fuel, partly because of liquefied natural gas (LNG) coming into eastern England, according to National Grid.

Centrica was taking delivery of LNG on Monday from the Seri Ayu tanker docked at the Isle of Grain terminal in Kent, while the Excelerate LNG tanker docked at Teesside helped boost flows into northeast England.

Although total gas flows into Britain were only about 249 mcm on Monday morning, with demand forecast at 269 mcm, suppliers have told National Grid that they expect to deliver up to 293 mcm on Monday.