The UK will shortly become a net importer of gas, as the North Sea fields which have given us over 20 years of self-sufficiency finally begin to run dry; production is decreasing so that we are now a net importer, rather than a net exporter. The recent attempt by the Russian Government, Europe's major gas supplier, to hike the price of the gas it supplies to neighbouring Ukraine (the first step on the pipeline route to Western Europe) has led to intense media speculation over the security of supplies to the UK - in effect the argument is that since we cannot rely on a stable supply of gas, we should press ahead with a new generation of nuclear power plants which would guarantee energy security.
