Kwarteng considers accelerating UK gas quality relaxation
Minister may override for now a consultation process being run by the country’s health and safety authorities
The UK government is considering “potential regulatory options to extract more gas from existing fields”, energy minister Kwasi Kwarteng told a London conference in late June. The assumption is that the administration is weighing up whether to temporarily widen the allowable specifications for gas injected into the UK’s national transmission system (NTS), ahead of any permanent decision made following the conclusion of a consultation by the country’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The HSE opened a consultation on a proposed revision of the UK’s Gas Safety (Management) Regulations 1996, or GSMR, in late January, closing on 21 March. GSMR apply to the conveyance of gas through pipes to dom
Also in this section
4 March 2026
The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
4 March 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat
3 March 2026
The killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei in US–Israeli strikes marks the most serious escalation in the region in decades and a bigger potential threat to the oil market than the start of the Russia-Ukraine crisis
2 March 2026
A potential blockade of the Strait of Hormuz following the escalating US-Iran conflict risks disrupting Qatari LNG exports that underpin global gas markets, exposing Asia and other markets to sharp price spikes, cargo shortages and renewed reliance on dirtier fuels






