Britain allows Centrica to reopen Rough gas storage facility

LONDON (Reuters) - Centrica's Rough gas storage site off England's east coast has received all the regulatory approvals to start storing gas again, Britain's oil and gas regulator said on Tuesday.

Countries across Europe have been building gas stocks ahead of winter to prepare for disruptions to supply of Russian gas, but Britain has had very little storage capacity since Rough's closure in 2018.

Britain's North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) said it had granted the required approvals and consents to Centrica Offshore UK Limited for Phase 1 of the Rough gas storage site.

Centrica's Chief Executive Chris O'Shea said last month the company was carrying out the necessary engineering work to enable the site to reopen.

It would be prepared to invest 2 billion pounds ($2.33 billion) in the project, he said.

The Rough site previously provided about 70% of Britain's gas storage capacity.

Had the site been open last winter, it could have saved households about 100 pounds on their annual energy bills, O'Shea said last month.

($1 = 0.8576 pound)

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Jonathan Oatis)