25.9 C
Accra
Monday, December 23, 2024
WorldGovernment intensifying talks to ensure gas supplies ahead of the winter demand...

Date:

Government intensifying talks to ensure gas supplies ahead of the winter demand surge

Whitehall officials are negotiating with companies including Cheniere and Venture Global amid intense pressure on Liz Truss’s administration to bolster Britain’s energy security, Sky News learns.

Ministers are in talks with major US-based producers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in a bid to bolster Britain’s energy security.

Sky News has learned that the government is discussing substantial purchase agreements with companies including Cheniere and Venture Global.

Sources said the talks were at a detailed stage although it was possible that they would not result in an agreement.

Any deal with Cheniere and Venture Global would be worth, at a minimum, hundreds of millions of pounds, and would be likely to last for two years or more, according to one insider.

Liz Truss, whose grip on power looked precarious on Friday after sacking her chancellor and reversing further key tenets of the government’s recent mini-Budget, has made energy security a central plank of her leadership.

Unveiling her vast energy bills subsidy package last month, the prime minister said the government had established the Energy Supply Taskforce under the leadership of Maddy McTernan, who also led the COVID Vaccine Taskforce.

The new unit, Ms Truss said, was “already negotiating new long-term energy contracts with domestic and international gas suppliers to immediately bring down the cost of this intervention [to reduce household energy bills]”.

British imports of LNG accounted for 17% of the gas supplied to the UK through production and imports last year, according to data published by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

The government has also acknowledged that it is seeking long-term deals with foreign states understood to include Norway and Qatar – sparking concerns that Britain will pay a ‘security premium’ in exchange for guaranteed supplies.

Responding to an inquiry from Sky News, a government spokesman said: “As the Prime Minister has previously said, the new Energy Supply Taskforce has begun negotiations with domestic and international suppliers regarding long-term contracts to increase the UK’s energy resilience.”

 

[forminator_poll id="710479"]

Latest stories

U.S. Financial Analyst labels Akufo-Addo as Ghana’s worst, corrupt leader

Renowned U.S. financial analyst Scott Bolshevik has sparked a...

Lead-based paints cause lasting health damage – EPA

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has voiced concerns over...

Upper West Region receives 35,600 condoms in effort to curb HIV spread

The Ghana AIDS Commission distributed 35,600 condoms in the...

Star Oil commemorates 25th anniversary

Star Oil, a privately-run fuel retail company, has reaffirmed...

Govt has not issued financial clearance for new expenses – Govt’s transition team

The Government Transition Team clarified that no financial clearance...

‘Your career has not come to an end when you leave a record label’ – Sefa

Ghanaian musician Sefadzi Abena Amesu, popularly known as Sefa,...

More than 12,000 Ghanaians were deported globally in last four years – GIS

The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has reported that over...

Related stories

Biden grants full pardon to son Hunter amid criminal sentencing

US President Joe Biden has granted a full and...

Court issues 2-year suspended death sentence to former Bank of China Chair for bribery, others

Former Bank of China chairman Liu Liange on Tuesday received...

Ghanaians among UN peacekeepers injured in Southern Lebanon attacks

The UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon has reported...

Russia denies Trump told Putin to restrain Ukraine war efforts

The Kremlin has rejected media reports suggesting that US...

More than 100 detained as protesters defy Amsterdam’s ban on protests

Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested in Amsterdam on...

Traffic jam erupts as cyclists from Zhengzhou to Kaifeng for dumplings

A social media trend that began as a lighthearted...

Adin Ross wins $1.6m on Trump election bet after public endorsement

American streamer and social media influencer Adin Ross scored...