The Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018

The gas subsector

3.—(1) This paragraph describes the threshold requirements which apply to specified kinds of essential services in the gas subsector.

(2) For the essential service of gas supply the threshold requirements are—

(a) in Great Britain, supply undertakings that supply gas to more than 250,000 final customers;

(b) in Northern Ireland, the holder of a supply licence under Article 8(1)(c) of the Gas (Northern Ireland) Order 1996(1) who supplies gas to more than 2,000 customers.

(3) For the essential service of gas transmission the threshold requirements are—

(a) in Great Britain—

(i) transmission system operators with a potential to disrupt delivery to more than 250,000 final customers; or

(ii) holders of interconnector licences where the gas interconnector to which the licence relates has the technological capacity to input more than 20 million cubic metres of gas per day to a transmission system; and

(b) in Northern Ireland, the holder of a gas conveyance licence under Article 8(1)(a) of the Gas (Northern Ireland) Order 1996.

(4) For the essential service of gas distribution the threshold requirements are—

(a) in Great Britain, distribution system operators with a potential to disrupt delivery to more than 250,000 final customers; and

(b) in Northern Ireland the holder of a licence under Article 8(1)(a) of the Gas (Northern Ireland) Order 1996.

(5) For the essential service of the operation of gas storage facilities, the threshold requirements are—

(a) in Great Britain, storage system operators where the storage facility has the technological capacity to input more than 20 million cubic metres of gas per day to a transmission system; and

(b) in Northern Ireland the holder of a licence under Article 8(1)(b) of the Gas (Northern Ireland) Order 1996(2).

(6) For the essential service of the operation of LNG facilities, the threshold requirements are—

(a) in Great Britain, LNG system operators where the LNG facility has the technological capacity to input more than 20 million cubic metres of gas per day to a transmission system; and

(b) in Northern Ireland the holder of a licence under Article 8(1)(d) of the Gas (Northern Ireland) Order 1996(3).

(7) For the essential service of the operation of relevant gas processing facilities, the threshold requirement in the United Kingdom is in the case of—

(a) a relevant gas processing facility, or

(b) a relevant upstream petroleum pipeline which is connected to and operated from a relevant gas processing facility,

an operator of a facility or pipeline with a throughput of more than 3,000,000 tonnes of oil equivalent per year.

(8) For the essential service of the operation of petroleum production projects (other than projects which are primarily used for the storage of gas), the threshold requirement in the United Kingdom is—

(a) in the case of—

(i) a relevant offshore installation which is part of a petroleum production project (other than a project which is primarily used for the storage of gas), or

(ii) a relevant upstream petroleum pipeline which is connected to and operated from such an installation,

an operator of an installation or pipeline with a throughput of more than 3,000,000 tonnes of oil equivalent per year.

(9) In sub-paragraph (3)(a)(i) the threshold requirement does not include transmission systems for which an interconnector licence applies.

(10) In this paragraph—

(a) “carbon dioxide pipeline” has the meaning given by section 90(2) of the Energy Act 2011(4);

(b) “crude oil” means any liquid hydrocarbon mixture occurring naturally in the earth whether or not treated to render it suitable for transportation, and includes—

(i) crude oils from which distillate fractions have been removed, and

(ii) crude oils to which distillate fractions have been added;

(c) “distribution” has the meaning given by Article 2(5) of Directive 2009/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas and repealing Directive 2003/55/EC(5), “the Gas Directive”;

(d) “distribution system operator” has the meaning given by Article 2(6) of the Gas Directive;

(e) “final customer” has the meaning given by Article 2(27) of the Gas Directive;

(f) “foreign sector of the continental shelf” has the meaning given by section 90(1) of the Energy Act 2011(6);

(g) “gas processing facility” means any facility which—

(i) carries out gas processing operations in relation to piped gas;

(ii) is operated otherwise than by a gas transporter; and

(iii) is not an LNG import or export facility (within the meaning of section 12 of the Gas Act 1995(7));

(h) “gas processing operation” means any of the following operations—

(i) purifying, blending, odorising or compressing gas for the purpose of enabling it to be introduced into a pipeline system operated by a gas transporter or to be conveyed to an electricity generating station, a gas storage facility or any place outside the United Kingdom;

(ii) removing from gas for that purpose any of its constituent gases, or separating from gas for that purpose any oil or water;

(iii) determining the quantity or quality of gas which is or is to be so introduced, or so conveyed, whether generally or by, or on behalf of, a particular person;

(iv) separating, purifying, blending, odorising or compressing gas for the purpose of—

(aa) converting it into a form in which a purchaser is willing to accept delivery from a seller, or

(bb) enabling it to be loaded for conveyance to another place (whether inside or outside the United Kingdom); or

(v) loading gas—

(aa) at a facility which carries out operations of a kind mentioned in paragraph (iv), or

(bb) piped from such a facility,

for the purpose of enabling the gas to be conveyed to another place inside or outside the United Kingdom;

(i) “gas transporter” has the meaning given by section 7(1) of the Gas Act 1986(8);

(j) “interconnector licence” means a licence granted under section 7ZA of the Gas Act 1986(9);

(k) “LNG facility” has the meaning given by Article 2(11) of the Gas Directive;

(l) “LNG system operator” has the meaning given by Article 2(12) of the Gas Directive;

(m) “oil equivalent” means petroleum and, for the purposes of assessments of throughput, where petroleum is in a gaseous state 1,100 cubic meters of this petroleum at a temperature of 15 degrees Celsius and pressure of one atmosphere is counted as equivalent to one tonne;

(n) “oil processing facility” means any facility which carries out oil processing operations;

(o) “oil processing operations” means any of the following operations—

(i) initial blending and such other treatment of petroleum as may be required to produce stabilised crude oil to the point at which a seller could reasonably make a delivery to a purchaser of such oil;

(ii) receiving stabilised crude oil piped from an oil processing facility carrying out operations of a kind mentioned in sub-paragraph (i), or storing oil so received, prior to their conveyance to another place (whether inside or outside the United Kingdom);

(iii) loading stabilised crude oil piped from a facility carrying out operations of a kind mentioned in sub-paragraph (i) or (ii) for conveyance to another place (whether inside or outside the United Kingdom);

(p) “petroleum” has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Petroleum Act 1998(10), and includes petroleum that has undergone any processing;

(q) “petroleum production project” means a project carried out by virtue of a licence granted under—

(i) section 3 of the Petroleum Act 1998(11);

(ii) section 2 of the Petroleum (Production) Act 1934(12); or

(iii) section 2 of the Petroleum (Production) Act (Northern Ireland) 1964(13);

and includes such a project which is used for the storage of gas;

(r) “piped gas” means gas which—

(i) originated from a petroleum production project (or an equivalent project in a foreign sector of the continental shelf); and

(ii) has been conveyed only by means of pipes;

(s) “pipeline” means a pipe or system of pipes for the conveyance of anything;

(t) “relevant offshore installation” means an offshore installation within the meaning of section 44 of the Petroleum Act 1998(14) which carries on the activities mentioned in subsection (3)(a) or (c) of that section and is a relevant offshore installation only to the extent it is used to carry on those activities;

(u) “storage facility” has the meaning given by Article 2(9) of the Gas Directive;

(v) “storage system operator” has the meaning given by Article 2(10) of the Gas Directive;

(w) “supply” has the meaning given by Article 2(7) of the Gas Directive;

(x) “supply undertaking” has the meaning given by Article 2(8) of the Gas Directive;

(y) “terminal” includes—

(i) facilities for such initial blending and other treatment as may be required to produce stabilised crude oil to the point at which a seller could reasonably make a delivery to a purchaser of such oil;

(ii) oil processing facilities;

(iii) gas processing facilities; and

(iv) a facility for the reception of gas prior to its conveyance to a place outside the United Kingdom;

(z) “transmission” has the meaning given by Article 2(3) of the Gas Directive; and

(aa) “transmission system operator” has the meaning given by Article 2(4) of the Gas Directive;

(bb) “upstream petroleum pipeline” means a pipeline or one of a network of pipelines which is—

(i) operated or constructed as part of a petroleum production project (or an equivalent project in a foreign sector of the continental shelf) and is not a carbon dioxide pipeline;

(ii) used to convey petroleum from the site of one or more such projects—

(aa) directly to premises, in order for that petroleum to be used at those premises for power generation or for an industrial process;

(bb) directly to a place outside the United Kingdom;

(cc) directly to a terminal; or

(dd) indirectly to a terminal by way of one or more other terminals, whether or not such intermediate terminals are of the same kind as the final terminal; or

(iii) used to convey gas directly from a terminal to a pipeline system operated by a gas transporter or to any premises.

(11) In—

(a) sub-paragraphs 2(a), 3(a), 4(a), 5(a) and 6(a), or in any provision of the Gas Directive to which these sub-paragraphs cross-refer, any reference to “gas” or “natural gas” means any substance in a gaseous state which consists wholly or mainly of—

(i) methane or hydrogen;

(ii) a mixture of two or more of those gases; or

(iii) a combustible mixture of one or more of those gases and air;

(b) sub-paragraphs 10(h), (q), (r), (y) and (bb), “gas” means any substance which is or, if it were in a gaseous state, would be gas within the meaning of Part 1 of the Gas Act 1986(15).

(12) In this paragraph an upstream petroleum pipeline, oil processing facility, or gas processing facility is “relevant” if and in so far as it is situated in—

(a) the United Kingdom;

(b) the territorial sea adjacent to the United Kingdom; or

(c) the sea in any area designated under section 1(7) of the Continental Shelf Act 1964(16).

(1)

S.I. 1996/275 (N.I. 2). Article 8(1)(c) was amended by regulation 17(1) of S.R. 2013 No. 92. There are other amendments to this instrument but none are relevant.

(2)

There are no relevant amendments.

(3)

Article 8(1)(d) was added by regulation 17(1) of S.R. 2013 No. 92.

(4)

2011 c. 16. There are no amendments relevant to this instrument.

(5)

OJ No. L 211, 14.8.2009, p. 94.

(6)

2011 c. 16. There are no amendments relevant to this instrument.

(7)

1995 c. 45. Section 12 of the Gas Act 1995 was amended by the Energy Act 2011 (c. 16) and the Utilities Act 2000 (c. 27). There are other amendments not relevant to this instrument.

(8)

1986 c. 44. Section 7(1) was substituted by section 76 of the Utilities Act 2000 (c. 27). There are other amendments not relevant to this instrument.

(9)

1986 c. 44. Section 7ZA of the Gas Act 1986 was inserted by section 149 of the Energy Act 2004 (c. 20).

(10)

1998 c. 17.

(11)

Section 3 of the Petroleum Act 1998 (c.17) was amended by the Scotland Act 2016 (c.11) and S.I. 2016/898.

(12)

1934 c. 36. This Act was repealed by section 51 of and Schedule 5 to the Petroleum Act 1998 (c. 17), subject to the savings provisions set out in Schedule 3.

(13)

1964 c. 28 (N.I.).

(14)

There are amendments to section 44 of the Petroleum Act (c. 17) not relevant to this instrument.

(15)

1986 c. 44.

(16)

1964 c. 29. Section 1(7) of the Continental Shelf Act 1964 was amended by section 37 of, and Schedule 3 to, the Oil and Gas (Enterprise) Act 1982 (c. 23), and section 103 of the Energy Act 2011 (c. 16).