After Sleipner A policy for UK gas supplies

Abstract

The decision by the UK government to reject the import of Norwegian gas from the Sleipner field, has determined the sources of UK gas supplies up to the early 1990s. Incredibly, the single most important British energy policy decision of the mid-1980s (and perhaps of the entire decade), failed to arouse any significant public interest. Moreover, the excitement which followed the announcement of the intention to privatize the British Gas Corporation (BGC) within the lifetime of the present government, obscured the much more important issue of future UK gas supplies. In spite of its avowed disdain for energy policy making, the government has arrived at a policy for UK gas supplies. This article looks at the reasons behind the Sleipner decision and its consequences for the UK gas market in the 1990s.