UK's National Grid considering Isle of Grain LNG terminal expansion

LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - British gas network operator National Grid (LSE: NG.L - news) may expand Europe's biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal at Isle of Grain in Britain by the winter of 2018-2019 in a bid to plug energy shortfalls.

The plan will be carried out at the 14.8 million tonne per annum (mtpa) import terminal if there is sufficient interest from new and existing importers, National Grid said in a statement on Friday.

So far none of the additional 6 mtpa being offered has been allocated to customers though talks are ongoing, a spokeswoman said.

With its domestic gas production declining rapidly as fields age, Britain is becoming increasingly dependent on foreign gas.

"The UK government predicts the need for up to 26 gigawatts of new gas-fired power plants by 2030 with import dependency set to exceed 76 percent by the same period," National Grid said in a statement supporting expansion.

The operator is also in talks to allow LNG to be loaded on to trucks at Isle of Grain for delivery to rural communities currently beyond the reach of the national grid network.

It is also consulting on adding a ship-loading service at the facility, allowing initially imported LNG to be loaded back on to different ships for onward delivery to higher-paying markets.

"There is firm interest for a road-loading service and potential interest for the ship-loading one," the spokesman added.

Several LNG receiving terminals in Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium have already boosted revenues by offering reloads, which allows traders to profit from big price differences between European, South American (Frankfurt: SS7.F - news) and Asian markets.

Higher Asian and South American prices have resulted in fewer cargo deliveries being made to British and European terminals over the past year. (Reporting by Oleg Vukmanovic)