The UK is likely to ramp up gas imports from Qatar, UK Department for Energy and Climate Change permanent secretary Stephen Lovegrove said at an industry event on Tuesday.
“We will import as much gas as we need, particularly from Qatar and Norway, who are our key sources,” Lovegrove said.
“It may well be that over a period of time we will need more gas as coal-fired power stations come off the system…so, it’s quite likely that there will be more exports from Qatar,” he added, speaking on the sidelines of the Brookings Doha Energy Forum 2015.
Qatar is the UK’s “most important” Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) supplier, said Lovegrove, adding that LNG imports could rise significantly both for the UK and EU markets.
“We are likely to be using more gas in future. We will be reliant on our international partners to do that, who are mainly Qatar and Norway. So, it is more likely there will be more coming from Qatar as well,” he said.
When asked if oil prices would stabilise in the future, Lovegrove stressed that “there is no means of predicting.”
“If you look historically, every few years we have had reasons and events that have driven energy prices. In reality, if you look at prediction and predictability. There is no predictability. There never has been predictability in the energy markets, ever,” he said.
