PORTLAND Gas started work on site today (31 July 2009) to build a gas storage facility at Upper Osprey on Portland. The first stage of the £456m scheme will be completed by the end of 2009. When finished, the project will be the UK’s largest onshore gas storage facility, designed to supply up to 7.5% of the nation’s gas on a cold winter’s day.

The first task is to build the wellpad from which drilling down to the salt sequence deep below Portland can take place, the first stage to create the caverns to store natural gas.

The initial works on the wellpad will be performed by Hydrock, a leading national provider of consultancy and specialist contracting services for construction, infrastructure and the environment. Engineering design work is being undertaken by CB&I who have global experience in the engineering, procurement and construction of major energy infrastructure projects.

Timetable

The gas storage facilities will be constructed in a number of stages, starting initially with drilling and construction of the facilities that will be required to construct the caverns, followed by construction of the gas facilities and pipelines. The project will take approximately 7 years to complete. Drilling is expected to commence towards the end of 2010.

Jobs

The level of activities on the site will vary through time depending on the stage of construction. At the peak it is anticipated that there will be 300 working on site with opportunities for local employment. The need for local services during the construction period will also bring an economic benefit to the area.
In the long-term it is currently anticipated that 24 permanent jobs will be created once the build is complete. Portland Gas has pledged to recruit locally for the permanent positions on the site.

Community benefits

In addition, the company has set up The Portland Gas Trust, a charity with local trustees, which will fund over £2m-worth of projects benefiting education, the environment and understanding of geology in South Dorset and Portland in particular.

Andrew Hindle, CEO of Portland Gas, said: ‘Portland Project is poised to take a key position in the gas supply chain in the UK. With the rapid decline in UK production from the North Sea, more gas storage is required to handle gas demand. Portland is making an important contribution to the nation’s energy security and the project will bring substantial local benefits through employment opportunities and the work for the Portland Gas Trust.’

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