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British Gas parent buys Isle of Grain LNG terminal for £1.5bn
2/9/2025
News
UK energy company Centrica has bought Grain LNG from National Grid, in partnership with US energy infrastructure firm Energy Capital Partners.
The LNG terminal boasts 1mn m3 tank space and a capacity of 15mn t/y, said to be equivalent to 20% of UK gas demand. Sprawling over 240 ha on the island of the same name in the Thames estuary off the north Kent coast, Grain LNG is also described as Europe’s largest terminal. It is said to provide critical LNG import/export, regasification and rapid response gas storage capacity to balance the energy system.
Chris O'Shea, Group Chief Executive of Centrica, said: ‘The Isle of Grain terminal is a strategic asset that will support the UK’s energy security for many decades to come, keeping energy flowing reliably and affordably to households and businesses across the country as we transition to net zero’.
He added: ‘Our decision to commit £3bn of capital in both Sizewell C and the Isle of Grain demonstrates the attractiveness of the UK as an investment location underpinned by supportive government investment policies’.
ECP described itself as ‘one of the largest private owners of natural gas generation and infrastructure assets in the US with direct experience in supporting grid reliability’. It is part of Bridgepoint Group plc.
ECP President and Managing Partner Tyler Reeder said: ‘ECP has long understood that natural gas is indispensable to keeping grids resilient and advancing the transition to a lower-carbon future. With the emergence of the US as the global leader in low-cost LNG supply and the growing need for reliable natural gas supply across the UK and Europe, we believe Grain LNG will increasingly be relied upon as critical infrastructure to deliver dependable energy to local markets’.
The £1.5bn deal consists of £1.1bn of new non-recourse project finance, and £200mn of equity investment from both Centrica and ECP.
