Norpipe

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Norpipe oil pipeline
Location
Country Norway, United Kingdom
General directioneast–west
From Ekofisk oil field
Passes through North Sea
To Teesside
General information
Typeoil
Partners ConocoPhillips, Total S.A., Equinor, Eni, SDFI
Operator ConocoPhillips
Commissioned1975
Technical information
Length354 km (220 mi)
Diameter34 in (864 mm)
Norpipe natural gas pipeline
Location
Country Norway, Germany
General directionnorth–south
From Ekofisk oil field
Passes through North Sea
To Emden
General information
Typenatural gas
Owner Gassled
Partners Equinor, Petoro, ConocoPhillips, Eni, ExxonMobil, Norsea Gas, Royal Dutch Shell, Total, DONG Energy
Operator Gassco
Technical service provider ConocoPhillips
Commissioned1977
Technical information
Length440 km (270 mi)
Maximum discharge16 billion cubic meters per year
Diameter36 in (914 mm)

Norpipe is a subsea oil and natural gas pipelines system in the North Sea. It supplies oil from the Norwegian Ekofisk and associated fields in the North Sea to the United Kingdom and natural gas to Germany.

Contents

Oil pipeline

The Norpipe oil pipeline starts at the Ekofisk 2/4-J facility. [1] In addition to Ekofisk (Cod, Ekofisk, West Ekofisk, Tor, Albuskjell, Eldfisk, Edda, and Embla fields) the pipeline carries oil from Valhall, Hod, Gyda, Ula, Tambar, and Oselvar fields in the Norwegian zone, and from several of the UK's oil fields, such as Fulmar and Judy (see table). A tie-in point for UK fields is located about 50 kilometres (31 mi) from Ekofisk. It has a landfall at Teesside Refinery in England. [2]

The length of pipeline is 354 kilometres (220 mi) and it has diameter of 34 inches (860 mm). The pipeline is owned by Norpipe Oil AS, a consortium which includes ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS (35.05%), TotalFinaElf Exploration Norge AS (34.93%), Statoil (18.5%), Eni Norge AS (6.52%), and SDFI (5%). It is operated by ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS. [2] The pipeline was commissioned in 1975. [3] The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway has granted consent to use the pipeline until 2028. [1] The Norpipe oil pipeline originally had two intermediate booster pump installations in the UK sector designated 37/4A and 36/22A, these were seldom used and were subsequently bypassed. The booster platforms were removed in 2009/10 as part of the greater Ekofisk decommissioning. [4]

Booster pumping stations

The specification of the booster station was as follows. [5] [6]

Norpipe booster stations
DesignationNorpipe 37/4ANorpipe 36/22A
Distance from Ekofisk 2/4 J123 km235 km
Distance from Teesside231 km119 km
Water depth85 m81 m
FabricatedMcDermott, ArdersierUIE Cherbourg and St Wandrille
Total weight9,750 tonnes
Installed19741974
Operational14 October 19751975
Drive3 × GE (MS-3002J) 2-Stage axial gas turbines 11,800 / 14,400 hp3 × GE (MS-3002J) 2-Stage axial  gas turbines 11,800 / 14,400 hp
FuelDiesel or crude oilDiesel or crude oil
Pump3 × Bingham 1-stage centrifugal pumps3 × Bingham 1-stage centrifugal pumps
Generators3 × Bergen 640kVA diesel sets3 × Bergen 640kVA diesel sets
Pigging equipmentYesYes
Accommodation2 storey, 24 beds 2 × double, 5 × four bed cabins3 storey, 31 beds 1 × single, 9 × double, 3 × four bed
Crew10
Firewater pumpsYesYes
HelideckSuper PumaSuper Puma
UtilitiesTelemetry, lube oil, chemicals, instrument and plant air, steam, potable water, cranes and lifting equipment2 × B-E MK 60 Cranes
ShutdownNovember 19811977
Occupation ceased19831983
Pipeline bypass19941994
Topsides removed20092009
Jacket removed20102010

UK fields and Norpipe

The following fields and installations export oil into the Norpipe pipeline. [7] [8]

Fields exporting to Norpipe
FieldInstallationProduction toLengthDiameter, inchesYear commissioned
EkofiskPlatform 2/4 JTeesside terminal354 km341975
JudyPlatformNorpipe UK Tee via Northern Wye and Southern Wye241997
JoanneSubseaJudy5.5 km2 x 12-inch2002
JasminePlatformJudy6 miles162013
JadePlatformJudy17.3 km162002
StellaSemi-submersible FPF-1Southern Wye / Tanker44 km102016
HarrierSubseaStella FPF-17 km2018
FulmarPlatformSouthern Wye15.5 km241997 Fulmar had formerly used offshore tanker loading
AukPlatformFulmar12 km81975
Auk NorthSubseaFulmar10.7 km82011
GannetPlatformFulmar107 km161992
ClydePlatformFulmar11  km161986
OrionSubseaClyde16.3 km101999
FlyndreSubseaClyde20 km82017

Throughput

The annual oil production from 1998 (in 1000 tonnes) was: [9]

The total oil throughput of the terminal up to the end of 2021 was 104.585 million tonnes. [9]

Natural gas pipeline

The 440-kilometre (270 mi) long Norpipe natural gas pipeline runs from Ekofisk to a receiving terminal at Emden in Germany. The diameter of pipeline is 36 inches (910 mm) and it has capacity of 16 billion cubic metres (570 billion cubic feet) of natural gas per year. [10] The natural gas pipeline was commissioned in 1977 and will be in use until 2028. [11] The start-up investment was 26.4 billion Norwegian krone. The pipeline is owned by Gassled and operated by Gassco. [11] The technical service provider is ConocoPhillips.

On 30 September 1995, a German cargo ship Reint collided with the Norpipe H7-platform in the German continental shelf. Only minimal damages to the platform, and no injuries to people were caused. [12] The H7 platform has been off-the-service since 1999, and in 2007 a bypass pipe laid around the platform. [13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "ConocoPhillips Gets Go Ahead to Use Norpipe Oil Pipeline Until 2028". Rigzone. 22 July 2008. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
  2. 1 2 "Pipeline Facts" (PDF). Statoil . Retrieved 9 October 2010.
  3. ↑ "Norpipe Oil Pipeline". Subsea Oil & Gas Directory. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
  4. ↑ Heerema. "Ekofisk". Heerema. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  5. ↑ "Norpipe 36/22 A". ekofisk. 24 October 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  6. ↑ "Norpipe 37/4 A". ekofisk. 24 November 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  7. ↑ "Judy Joanne". chrysaor. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  8. ↑ "Fulmar" (PDF). repsol. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  9. 1 2 Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES) Annex F.1 Crude oil
  10. ↑ "Natural gas in the Nordic countries" (PDF). Nordic Energy Perspectives. March 2009. p. 31. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
  11. 1 2 "Gassco gets consent to use B-11 facility, Norpipe until 2028". Scandinavian Oil-Gas Magazine. 20 January 2009. ISSN   1500-709X . Retrieved 10 November 2009.
  12. ↑ Vinnem, Jan Erik (2007). Offshore risk assessment: principles, modelling and applications of QRA studies. Springer. ISBN   978-1-84628-716-9 . Retrieved 10 November 2009.
  13. ↑ "Gassco plugs in Norpipe bypass". Upstream Online . NHST Media Group. 25 June 2007. Retrieved 10 November 2009.

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