British Gas owner Centrica has submitted an application to the North Sea energy regulator to reopen Rough, what is considered the UK’s largest gas storage facility.

The company confirmed it is in “exploratory discussions” with the government about the way Rough could boost the country’s energy independence efforts.

If the licence application is approved, natural gas could be reinjected in the site in the coming months.

Centrica closed Rough, a facility located 18 miles off the east coast of Yorkshire, in 2017.

Back then, Centrica said the wells and facilities suffered a number of different failure modes while testing as they are at the end of their design life and therefore cannot safely return them to injection and storage operations.

It is estimated that Rough can store enough natural gas to meet the UK’s needs for ten days.

It represents more than 70% of the current storage capacity and is able to store nine days’ worth of gas demand.