The UK's gas supply capabilities look set to be doubled after the Italian energy group ENI announced that it has reached an agreement to take control of the Hewett Unit field in the North Sea.

In a £210 million deal, ENI will acquire Tullow Oil's 52 per cent stake in the field, thereby bringing its own overall stake to 89 per cent, and it has confirmed that it is now looking to develop a storage facility capable of holding up to five billion cubic metres of gas by 2013.

The news has been welcomed by industry observers, many of whom have recently expressed concerns that the UK is currently lagging behind other European countries when it comes to gas storage capabilities and could therefore have trouble dealing with any significant spikes in demand.

Commenting on the deal, energy industry regulator Ofgem stated: "If the Hewett gas storage project goes ahead it will more than double Britain's long-term gas storage capacity and will be a welcome development ... there is over 2bn cubic metres of gas storage under development, which should be ready by 2012."