A multi-agency live exercise was held at the LNG Terminal on Thursday 22 October 2026 to test the coordinated emergency response to a simulated incident at the facility.

The exercise, coordinated by the Office of Civil Contingencies, involved the participation of the emergency services, relevant Government departments and agencies, the Gibraltar Electricity Authority, px Group Ltd and other key stakeholders.

The scenario simulated the release of a flammable vapour cloud and tested the arrangements for managing an incident of this nature. The exercise included the isolation and containment of the simulated incident, together with the rescue and treatment of injured personnel.

The live exercise provided participating organisations with an important opportunity to rehearse their respective contingency arrangements, test joint command and coordination procedures and assess the effectiveness of the wider multi-agency response.

The exercise formed part of the Government’s continuing programme of emergency preparedness and reflects its commitment to ensuring that Gibraltar’s emergency services, departments, agencies and critical infrastructure operators remain ready to respond effectively to major incidents.

The Hon Leslie Bruzon MP, Minister for Civil Contingencies, said “Exercises of this nature are essential to ensuring that our emergency services, Government departments, agencies and critical infrastructure operators are prepared to respond effectively to a major incident. Thursday’s exercise demonstrated the importance of coordinated planning and provided a valuable opportunity to test our collective response in a realistic environment. I would like to thank everyone involved for their professionalism and continued commitment to protecting our community.”

Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Ivor Lopez MBE, Civil Contingencies Coordinator, said “The exercise was designed to test the practical application of the emergency response arrangements for an incident at the LNG Terminal, including command and control, inter-agency communication and the coordination of activity at the scene. It also involved the activation of a Tactical Coordination Group to consider the wider consequences of the simulated incident and coordinate the broader multi-agency response. Regular exercises are essential to ensuring that all responding agencies remain familiar with their roles and responsibilities and are best prepared to deal effectively with all eventualities.”

Christopher Segovia, Chief Environmental Health Officer, said “As the Competent Authority for the LNG Terminal as a COMAH site, the Environmental Agency has an important role in overseeing the arrangements in place to prevent major accidents and mitigate their potential consequences. Exercises such as this allow us to assess how those arrangements operate in practice, including the coordination between the operator, emergency services and relevant authorities. The findings from the exercise will inform the ongoing review and continuous improvement of safety and emergency preparedness at the site.”

Mark Kenrick, Group Director Safety and Technical Services with the px Group, which operates the site, added: “As an organisation committed to safety and preparedness, it was good to get our first experience of such a comprehensive exercise at the Gibraltar LNG plant. It was encouraging to see the levels of readiness and co-ordination between all parties involved and to consolidate the response process in the event of a real incident.”