Britain has set out proposals to make it easier for firms to import LNG in a move designed to help secure energy supplies as North Sea reserves of the fuel start to run out.

The government said it wanted to exempt LNG importers from the need to hold a transporter licence to move LNG from import terminals onto the UK’s national pipeline network.
Imported LNG, which is gas cooled into liquid form and shipped in by tanker, is expected to play an important role in plugging the supply gap left by dwindling North Sea gas reserves over the next few years.
“An exemption order for operators of LNG  import facilities on the lines proposed would remove a potential barrier to entry to the (UK) gas supply market,” said the Department of Trade and Industry