A decision to shut down the facility comes after the company completed wells testing programme and analysed the results. The firm has also completed a review into the feasibility of returning Rough to injection and storage operations
Centrica started a future pathway assessment of the same, back in this April.
Following the review, the company has concluded that it cannot safely return the assets and facilities to injection and storage operations.
With the wells and facilities being at the end of their design life and suffering a number of different failure modes while testing, the company has decided to close the facility.
Centrica said: "Furthermore, from a commercial perspective, an assessment of both the economics of seasonal storage today, and the costs of refurbishment or rebuilding the facility and replacing the wells, suggests that both pathways would not be economic.
"As a consequence, CSL intends to make all relevant applications to permanently end Rough’s status as a storage facility, and to produce all recoverable cushion gas from the field, which is estimated at 183 bcf."
The Rough facility accounts for about 70% of UK’s gas storage capacity. As there is no new-build to replace the facility, the country could be dependent on importing gas over the next few years, Reuters reported.
