EurOil: more UK energy suppliers go under

Three more UK energy suppliers have ceased trading, Ofgem announced on September 30, as the crisis on the country’s gas and power markets deepens.

The companies, Enstroga, Igloo Energy and Symbio Energy, have 6,000, 179,000 and 48,000 customers respectively, Ofgem said. The regulator will now pick a supplier of last resort to ensure their energy needs continue to be met.

“In recent weeks there has been an unprecedented increase in global gas prices, which is putting financial pressure on suppliers,” Ofgem said in a statement. “Ofgem is working closely with government and industry to make sure customers continue to be protected this winter.”

Other recent bankruptcies include Avro Energy and Green Supplier, whose customers have been absorbed by Octopus Energy and Royal Dutch Shell respectively.

In other news, Wintershall Dea is undertaking research into how some of its vast network of natural gas pipelines in the Dutch North Sea could be repurposed for carrying liquid CO2 transport.

The German gas supplier said on September 30 it had joined forces with the OTH Regensburg University of Applied Sciences to carry out a feasibility study into the proposal. There are more than 4,800 km of gas pipelines in the south North Sea, and 1,200 km are controlled by Wintershall Noordzee, Wintershall Dea’s 50:50 joint venture with Russia’s Gazprom. The company also has depleted gas reservoirs that could serve as CO2 storage sites. It estimates that the Dutch North Sea alone could store 800mn tonnes of CO2 – equivalent to three decades of emissions from the country’s industry.

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