Centrica applies to reduce minimum capacity of Rough storage to zero

Feb 28 (Reuters) - Centrica Storage Ltd has made a final application to reduce the minimum capacity of the Rough gas storage facility, Britain's largest, to zero for the 2017/18 storage year, it said on Tuesday.

Britain depends on stored gas reserves to manage winter demand spikes and ensure security of supply, but concerns about the integrity of wells at the Rough site off England's east coast prompted Centrica (Frankfurt: A0DK6K - news) , as a safety precaution, to impose limits last year on how much gas could be stored there.

The application to energy regulator Ofgem follows Centrica's announcement on Feb. 16 that Rough would not be available for gas injection until at least July 1 because of tests on wells and analysis of the work.

Centrica Storage is seeking a decision from Ofgem by March 10. Ofgem is not obligated to follow any specific timelines in reaching that decision, the company said.

(Reporting by Oleg Vukmanovic in Milan; Editing by David Goodman)