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T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R T H E U K O F F S H O R E O I L A N D G A S I N D U S T R Y
Pride in production
As the UK celebrates 50 years of oil and gas exploration and production, the
Morecambe Bay area reaches its own historic milestone of three decades of gas
production, during which time it has made an enduring contribution to domestic
energy supply and the economy.
Wireline
looks back on its remarkable journey
and looks forward to the new opportunities and challenges ahead.
“T
he first day of production
was all about proving that
everything worked –
we didn’t produce a lot of gas but we
had a real sense of achievement,” reflects
Les Hall, implementation engineer at
the Barrow Gas Terminals in Cumbria,
which processes gas from North and South
Morecambe and the surrounding fields in
the East Irish Sea. Les has worked there
since 1984 when the terminals were being
built. “I remember thinking at the time that
we were part of something big,” he says.
Gas reserves in Morecambe Bay off the
coast of Lancashire and Cumbria were
discovered by petrophysicist John Bains
in 1972, signalling the start of a new era
in UK gas exploration and production
from beneath the Irish Sea. The rights
were acquired by British Gas and
construction work on the £1.3 billion
onshore and offshore infrastructure
began during the 1980s. First gas was
