The owner of British Gas, Centrica, has partnered with investment firm Energy Capital Partners LLP to buy the UK’s largest LNG import terminal at the Isle of Grain for an enterprise value of $2 billion (£1.5 billion).
Centrica and Energy Capital Partners are buying the Isle of Grain terminal, known as Grain LNG, from National Grid, the UK energy firm said on Thursday.
Part-owning Grain LNG is in line with Centrica’s strategy of investing in critical energy infrastructure assets, aligned to the energy transition that deliver attractive returns, regulated or contracted cash flows, and create future options across the company’s broader portfolio, the British Gas owner said.
The Grain LNG import terminal is fully contracted until 2029, more than 70% contracted until 2038, and more than 50% contracted to 2045, Centrica noted. This, the company says, offers “highly visible long-term earnings and cash flow.”
After the acquisition, the Grain LNG management team will continue to operate the terminal as an independent company.
Grain LNG is Europe’s largest LNG regasification terminal and is located at Isle of Grain, to the East of London off the Thames estuary in Kent.
Grain is currently undergoing an expansion to boost regasification capacity and add storage capacity. After completion of the ongoing expansion, the site will be able to provide up to a third of the UK’s gas demand, Centrica said.
The company also owns and operates the UK’s largest gas storage site, Rough. Centrica restarted storage operations at Rough in 2022 to bolster the UK’s energy security and help reduce consumer bills. It has since expanded the storage capacity of the site in the Southern North Sea and the Easington onshore gas processing terminal in East Yorkshire.
Today, Rough provides half of the UK’s gas storage, being able to store 54 bcf of gas – enough to provide the equivalent volume of gas to heat 2.4 million UK homes over winter.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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