Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

New jobs will be created for the region during the building phase, Business Weekly has been assured.

The BBL Company Vof and Shell U.K. Limited confirmed that the natural gas terminal at Bacton would supply gas from the BBL pipeline to the National Grid Transco gas transport network in the UK.

The terminal is owned by Shell and Esso Exploration and Production UK, an Exxon Mobil subsidiary. Shell operates the terminal.

The companies have exchanged formal contracts for Shell to build and manage new reception facilities at Bacton for this major cross-border gas pipeline. No figure is being disclosed for the contract.

The 235-kilometre, 36 inch pipeline, will run under the North Sea between Balgzand on the Dutch coast and Bacton on the North Norfolk coast.

It will allow the additional import of gas from Europe, to increase security of energy supply to the UK as the country relies more heavily on imported gas from 2005. It is planned to be operational by the end of 2006.

At full capacity it is likely to supply 13 per cent of the UK demand for gas.

Keron McFadyen, director Shell U.K. (Holdings) Ltd said: “This new pipeline will go some way to sustaining the growing energy needs of the country for clean fuel, as indigenous UK gas production reaches its peak over the next few years.

“With the decline of supplies from existing fields we expect this pipeline to play an increasing role in supplying the needs of the UK for natural gas.”

Preparatory work on the gas supply infrastructure in Bacton is already underway. Work to feed the pipeline to the terminal via a shaft and tunnel construction under the beach has now been completed.

The pipeline will be connected to the Shell Terminal between September 2005 and October 2006.