Progress for offshore gas storage project in North Sea
A project to convert a former natural gas field 54 miles (86km) off the Norfolk coast into a storage facility has passed another stage.
North Norfolk District Council has granted planning permission for a pipeline reception and gas compression building at the Bacton terminal.
Centrica and Perenco UK plan to develop an 81bn cubic feet (2.36bn cubic metre) storage facility in the Baird field.
This would be the second-largest gas storage facility in the UK.
Engineers are now preparing plans for conversion of the gas field for storage and will submit proposals to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.
A spokesman for the new venture, Bacton Storage Company, said: "During periods of low demand gas will be stored off the North Norfolk coast.
"When demand peaks gas will be sent back to the Bacton gas terminal complex through a pipeline."