Page 49 - FINAL Phillips 66 50 Year Book

surface land space, and did not intrude on the environment.

Trial borings began soon after permission was granted. The exploratory
programme took into account a glacial canyon in the chalk running
from Kirmington across to the Humber between Immingham and South
Killingholme. To check that it wouldn’t pose a problem, a single shaft -
costing £24,000 - was drilled. The result: thankfully, the canyon was too
far away to affect the caverns.

By January 1982, Calor Gas was ready to go ahead with construction.
As the project was located close to residents in the area they were
understandably anxious and concerned by the idea of gas being stored
underneath where they lived. To reassure the residents a series of
meetings were held locally to discuss the development. While this
alleviated many concerns and gained support from some members of
the community there was ongoing disquiet from others who remained
opposed to the project which they believed to be dangerous.

The road to fruition was undoubtedly a bumpy one to navigate. Fears
reignited in July that year, when another refinery’s train carrying 1,000
tonnes of petrol collided head-on with a coal train, causing a plume of
explosive vapour to drift over South Killingholme. By this time, a £4.5 Above: Mechanical moles started boring work.
million contract to construct the caverns had been awarded and thanks
to continued reassurance and conversation with the community, the
project continued apace as teams of miners guided by lasers. The chalk
contained a thin layer of marl - volcanic dust – because volcanoes stood
there before the North Sea existed.

Left: Guided by lasers teams of miners started work on the chalk
caverns.