- Title: UK gas supply issue bubbling under surface for last decade, says expert
- Date: 21st September 2021
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (SEPTEMBER 21, 2021) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROFESSOR OF ENERGY, CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE AT DURHAM UNIVERSITY, JON GLUYAS, SAYING: "The supply (of gas) will continue, but the the supplier will change. And that could well be accompanied by will likely, in some instances, one would have thought, to be accompanied by an increase in price. And so that in itself will have a knock on effect in terms of the affordability of fuel for a number of people."
- Embargoed: 5th October 2021 12:18
- Keywords: CO2 analyst carbon dioxide explainer food industry gas shortage gas source gas supply power prices
- Location: VARIOUS
- City: VARIOUS
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Commodities Markets,Europe,Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA007EVNWVUV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The United Kingdom's gas supply issue has been "bubbling under the surface" for at least a decade, said a British expert in geoenergy and carbon on Tuesday (September 21).
European consumers are facing the prospect of soaring winter heating bills due to a confluence of global factors that have raised questions about how vulnerable Europe remains to swings in global energy prices.
The record prices have strained the British energy sector, destroying the business model of smaller energy traders and sending shockwaves through the chemical and fertiliser markets, leading to a shortage of carbon dioxide.
Jon Gluyas, a professor geoenergy, carbon capture and storage at Durham University said the supply issues in the UK stemmed from it's reliance on 60 percent of gas used being imported.
"Europe is essentially controlled by gas supply in both the medium term and long term from Russia, where it's abundant and it's those sorts of potential games that are being played around some of the politics which can cause and demonstrably causing pinches at the moment," Gluyas told Reuters.
"With gas generated from coal and then with North Sea gas, we've had it good for a long time and we've never had really to be concerned about energy security. Things are changing."
A jump in gas prices has forced several domestic energy suppliers out of business and has shut fertiliser plants that also make CO2 as a by-product of their production process.
The CO2 gas is used to stun animals before slaughter, in the vacuum packing of food products to extend their shelf life, and to put the fizz into beer, cider and soft drinks. CO2's solid form is dry ice, which is used in food deliveries.
But there are alternatives to using CO2 in food production, such as nitrogen, Gluyas said.
Greener alternatives to heating homes with gas should also be explored, he said, such as using warm water flooded into former coal fields which lie under existing houses.
"We can improve our energy security as well as make heating, particularly domestic heating and other heating, sustainable and low carbon, which is a little bit of innovation and thought rather than sticking with the old stuff," Gluyas said.
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