Costain wins Barrow gas terminal project

CENTRICA Energy has appointed Costain to its £84m gas terminals project at Barrow.

The energy group processes gas from offshore fields near Morecambe and in the Irish Sea at the terminals.

It has now started work on a new pipeline that will run underground from the north to south terminals.

Around 300 workers are expected to be involved on the project. Some 200 people work at the terminals in Barrow, with a further 200 based at Centrica Energy’s base in Heysham, near Morecambe.

Centrica says it needs the pipeline because European Union legislation will prohibit the sale of a refrigerant called freon from the end of the year. Freon is used to cool the gas piped to the south terminal as part of the process to clean it before it can be pumped into the National Grid.

Instead it will use a ‘drying bead’ which acts in the same way as the silica gel found in new bags or shoes used to absorb moisture. The technology is already used at the north terminal where gas will be treated before being sent along the 1km tunnel to the south terminal.

Costain’s chief executive Andrew Wyllie said: “The Barrow Gas Terminals provide enough gas to meet the demand for 1.5 million homes in the UK and are key to securing the nation’s future energy needs. Having previously provided Centrica Energy with front end consultancy for the terminals project, we are now delighted to build on our five-year collaboration with the company with this further contract.”

Barrow’s gas terminals are responsible for around 8% of the UK’s gas supply, down from a peak of 25% after the site first opened in the early 1980s.