Bloomberg: UK in talks with Norway over gas supplies

MOSCOW, 4 Oct — PRIME. The UK is in talks with Norway over a long-term gas supply deal amid a potential power outage this winter, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

“The UK is in talks with Norway to conclude a contract for the supply of natural gas, possibly for 20 years,” the agency said in a statement.

At the moment British ministers are discussing the cost of the contract with their counterparts from Norway, a source who wished to remain anonymous told the agency. The UK Department of Energy has not yet commented.

This could threaten the UK with a huge amount of money to spend on energy due to the long term of a possible contract and high prices in the market, the agency writes.

On Tuesday afternoon, British Prime Minister Liz Truss said that in addition to increasing domestic energy production, Britain is considering entering into “long-term energy contracts with other countries.” However, she added that she has not signed any deal yet.

Earlier, the British energy regulator Ofgem said that the country is facing a gas shortage amid the energy crisis and pointed out that a number of gas-fired power plants could go bankrupt and stop working. In this regard, Britain may declare a “state of emergency in the field of gas supplies.”