Bacton gas terminal: Keeping the UK warm since 1968

A seaside complex that handles a third of the UK's gas supply is marking its 50th anniversary.

North Sea gas first started to arrive ashore at the Bacton terminal on the Norfolk coast in July 1968.

It is one of National Grid's eight gas terminals, helping to distribute supplies across the country, and can also import or export gas from Europe.

The company said the site, 20 miles (32km) from Great Yarmouth, is of "strategic national importance".

The terminal took about a year to build and was officially opened by the Duke of Edinburgh in 1969.

At the time, homes and businesses were being converted to natural gas - a process that would take until 1977 to complete.

Domestic cookers and other appliances needed to be converted because "pure" North Sea gas had a higher energy value than manufactured town gas.

Phil Sheppard, National Grid's director of gas transmission, said: "This is a landmark month for us. 50 years ago, Bacton opened to start taking the first flows from the North Sea gas fields.

"They were fed into a 36-inch diameter gas pipeline which ran 140 miles from the coast to Rugby.

"Gas flowing through Bacton has played an important role in keeping homes warm and production lines running over the past 50 years."

The terminal has grown over the years, covering 180 acres, and is adjoined by terminals operated by Perenco and Shell.

Gas is received from offshore gas fields and supplied to the pipe network, which criss-crosses the UK.

It can also send gas to or receive gas from Zeebrugge in Belgium and receive gas from the Netherlands.