Sat 5 June - 14:00-15:00 - Crude Britannia - The Estuary’s empire of gas

The world’s first liquid natural gas plant was opened in 1959 on Canvey Island. This revolutionary technology froze natural gas in Algeria into a liquid, shipped it to the Estuary and then transformed it back into gas, supplying homes in Romford. Half a century on and liquid gas is one of the biggest energy sources globally. It is still imported from Algeria, arriving at the terminal on the Isle of Grain. What are the impacts of it on environment and society in Algeria and the Estuary? This event will explore these pressing questions.

The Estuary has no gas of its own, but it is rich in wind. The future energy supply of the region is blowing through the wind farms at the mouth of the Estuary. What be the difference between gas thinking and wind thinking? How will the people possess the wind? The voyage of the Crude Britannia sailboat around the Estuary will explore the power of wind and convey it online in film.

Hamza Hamouchene - Environmental Justice North Africa – on the impact of gas production in Algeria
Rod Bishop - former worker at British Gas plant, Canvey Island on working with gas imports in the Estuary
Sue Jones - Cement Fields – on the domestic world of gas in an Estuary home
Richard Houguez & Platform - ‘The People will Possess the Wind – Part II: Gas’, Crude Britannia sailboat exploring the wind in the Estuary
Terry Macalister – co-author of Crude Britannia
Hosted by James Marriott of Platform