Bacton Gas terminal fire - Shell terminal still not operating at capacity

Mystery continues over the fire at Bacton Gas terminal last week - with almost total absence of Press / TV comment although today there are reports by local press here and here by BBC Online who think it worth noting that ..."Police are also taking part in the investigation. ".

Shell announced on Tuesday that they expect to gradually increase UK gas imports through its terminal at Bacton towards normal levels , although flow rates may" dip "at times.

The Shell terminal was reopened on Monday afternoon after last week’s fire in a waste treatment unit and flow rates reached around 23 million cubic metres a day early on Tuesday before plunging to little more than 5 mcm/day.

A Shell spokesman refused to speculate on when the site would be fully operational once more but said: “It is not just a case of turning on a valve.“The whole plant has to be pressurised and gassed up before it can accept gas from the North Sea fields.”

The Shell spokesman denied there was any problem with the terminal. APX show the buying price has risen 1.75 p to 55.02 at the end of yesterday This graph shows recent movment in the wholesale price of gas at the terminal.