 History
The gas storage terminal at Canvey was built 45 years ago by North Thames Gas in conjunction with the Gas Council. It was designed for the importation of LNG and consisted initially of 5 tanks that were able to store 20,000 tonnes of product.
At that time the U.K. natural gas fields in the North Sea were undiscovered, but the technology associated with liquefying natural gas from reserves around the world was well established. The LNG imported at that time was used as part of the process of manufacturing town gas in Romford.
Following the first two years of successful operation, a review of the activity at Canvey was undertaken. In light of the fact that the terminal was discreetly located away from day to day contact with the vast majority of Canvey residents - and had easy access to deep water mooring facilities - an expansion plan was approved. The new expansion meant the construction of 4 new tanks, 3 to hold 20,000 tonnes of LPG, to assist in the general move to manufacturing town gas from LPG rather than coal, and 1 more LNG tank that would increase the total storage
from 20 to 24,000 tonnes.
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During the Sixties the discovery of Natural Gas in the North Sea created the opportunity to establish a national infrastructure of pipe work to service the needs of all gas consumers. Canvey was ideally placed for the start of this process but more storage was needed. In 1969, permission was granted for 4 in ground tanks to be constructed by McAlpines. Each of these tanks would hold 21,000 tonnes and, although their purpose was to supplement periods of high demand, each tank was capable of supplying the whole country’s gas needs for one day in 1969. In 1969 Canvey had permission to store 108,000 tonnes of LNG and 20,000 tonnes of LPG, in total 128,000 tonnes of liquefied gas on the same area of land that the terminal today occupies. By 1994 the U.K. energy market had changed radically, British Gas was in the process of privatisation and North Sea product was flowing freely. The decision was taken to close Canvey as a gas terminal. In 1998 the terminal was owned by a small private company and was still operational for LPG storage. Calor, the U.K.’s leading supplier of LPG needed to supplement its existing storage facilities and purchased the terminal having gained permission to store 35,000 tonnes of LPG on site. The terminal has operated safely and efficiently providing the South East with ample quantities of LPG ever since. |
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