Centrica confirms the end of its North Sea gas production – what it means for UK energy security
Key Points
- Centrica will let its Rough production consent expire in April 2027 and does not intend to seek an extension
- The company's announced Spirit Energy asset sales mark the end of its North Sea gas production
- Gas storage at Rough, the UK's largest facility, remains paused with just 11bcf of gas left in the reservoir
- Centrica says any Rough redevelopment needs a long-term regulated framework from government
- The confirmation lands months after Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz sent UK gas prices sharply higher
Centrica has confirmed the end of its North Sea gas production, with its Rough production consent expiring in April 2027 and its remaining producing assets sold to Serica Energy.
The company disclosed in its 2026 interim results that its current production consent with the North Sea Transition Authority for the Rough field expires in April 2027 and that it does not currently intend to seek an extension.
Separately, the announced sales of the majority of Spirit Energy’s assets signal the end of the group’s North Sea gas production.
Spirit sold 46.25% of its interest in the Cygnus field in October 2025, and the sale of the remaining 15% along with all other producing assets in the Greater Markham Area and Southern North Sea to Serica Energy should complete in the second half of 2026.
What is left at Rough?
Rough, the UK’s largest gas storage facility, has not operated as a store since Centrica suspended injections in 2025 due to uneconomic seasonal price spreads.
The site continued producing its remaining indigenous gas during the half, extracting 8 billion cubic feet (bcf) and leaving 11bcf in the reservoir at the end of June, down from 16bcf at the start of the year.
That production has proved lucrative for the group, and the Rough business delivered £57 million of adjusted EBITDA in the half, reversing a £25 million loss a year earlier, as unhedged volumes captured higher commodity prices.
Centrica said it remains keen to invest in redeveloping the site but insists any redevelopment must come with a long-term regulated framework delivering appropriate support.
The company is awaiting the outcome of the government’s consultation on gas security, which concluded in February 2026. It carries a £319 million decommissioning provision against the field.
Questions around energy security
The decision to leave the North Sea comes during a volatile period for gas markets.
Centrica’s results describe how Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz and wider Middle East disruption drove sharp increases in oil, gas and LNG prices in early 2026, forcing the group to deploy risk tools developed during the 2022 Ukraine crisis.
Centrica further used the results to emphasise the need for storage infrastructure to be maintained so it can cover disruptions in international gas markets, and it continues to lobby UK and EU policymakers for more proportionate storage frameworks.
The group’s gas focus is now shifting west and downwards of the North Sea.
Spirit Energy’s team will focus on producing the remaining gas at Morecambe in the East Irish Sea, decommissioning safely and progressing the Morecambe Net Zero carbon storage project, which cleared a major technical milestone in the half when the NSTA confirmed progression into the Assess Phase of its carbon storage licence.
Centrica wants a government funding commitment for the project at the next spending review, anticipated in 2027.
