GAS from deep beneath Morecambe Bay’s waters has been piped into the National Grid for 30-years. Here, reporter RACHEL KITCHEN looks back at its history and charts the evolution of the project – the first of its kind in the UK

IT WAS thanks to the pioneering spirit of John Bains - 'grandfather of Morecambe Bay gas' - that gas reserves were discovered off the coast of Lancashire in 1972.

Original drilling rights to the fields had been relinquished in a fruitless search for oil. British Gas then acquired the rights, and the tenacity of chief petrophysicist Mr Bains led to a well being drilled which revealed more than six trillion cubic feet of gas.

This massive find sparked an unprecedented era in UK gas exploration and production.

During the early 1980s construction work began on the £1.3 billion onshore and offshore infrastructure needed to develop the gas fields. Twenty miles fromBarrow-in-Furness, the gas reservoir is among the largest in UK waters, around the same size as Birmingham.

History was made on January 9, 1985 when the first gas was extracted from rocks deep beneath the Irish Sea and transported via seabed pipeline to Barrow.

Engineer Les Hall was working at the Barrow Terminals that day and recalled: "I remember thinking at the time that we were part of something big.

"The processing facilities weren't automated like they are now. I spent the entire shift physically opening and closing valves to adjust the flow and temperature, and back in those days we also did the odourising, which gives gas its characteristic smell. Once the gas was metered and odourised it went straight into the National Grid.

"That first day was all about proving that everything worked - we didn't produce a lot of gas but we had a real sense of achievement."

Spares and repairs engineer Greg Wood said: "I remember the day as though it was yesterday and I can still feel the adrenaline when I think about it.

"You have to remember that extracting natural gas from our own waters had never been done before on this sort of scale; it was unprecedented and what we did in Morecambe Bay revolutionised the industry in the UK."

At their peak Morecambe Bay's gas fields supplied 20 percent of the UK's domestic gas needs. Today, gas extracted by the team at Centrica Energy's South Morecambe offshore platform - a workforce of around 150 at any one time - continues to heat around 1.5 million homes. Production looks set to continue into the 2020s, exceeding the fields' original lifespan.

For offshore installation manager Peter Jamieson, what stands out during 28 years of offshore working is the family atmosphere among those working off and onshore. "There’s a real sense of shared experience which I think comes from working in such a unique environment,” he said.

Graham Sheedy, operations manager for Centrica Energy in Morecambe Bay, added: “The professionalism of the people who work on gas production in Morecambe Bay makes me really proud.

"Operating 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, we don’t stop during bad weather, we don’t stop in the holidays. We operate safely and efficiently for the company and the country – it’s an incredible story."

The past 30 years have seen six-and-a-half trillion cubic feet of gas produced from Morecambe Bay - enough to fill Loch Ness 25 times.

Last year the first new gas field in a decade - known as Rhyl - came on stream. Work has also started on an £84 million upgrade of Barrow Gas Terminals, which Centrica says will help secure employment into the next decade and beyond. The project, which includes a new underground pipeline, has created 100 new jobs and boosted local construction and engineering firms.

Centrica Energy runs four-year apprenticeships, which have produced two fully trained engineers for every year since 1985.

Morecambe Bay gas has also helped to raise tens of thousands for charities such as RNLI and the North West Air Ambulance, as well as supporting community projects like beach clean-ups and teaching school children about wildlife.

"The 30th anniversary at Morecambe is really important not only for the region itself but for the industry as a whole," said Andy Bevington, director of operated assets for Centrica Energy’s UK & Netherlands business. "Morecambe was a massive find, developed in a really innovative way for its time, so to still be producing 30 years later is a great achievement."