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.
Oil pipeline The Norpipe oil pipeline starts at the Ekofisk 2/4-J facility. 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 from Ekofisk. It has a landfall at Teesside Refinery in England.
The length of pipeline is and it has diameter of . 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. The pipeline was commissioned in 1975. The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway has granted consent to use the pipeline until 2028. 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.
Booster pumping stations The specification of the booster station was as follows. +Norpipe booster stationsDesignationNorpipe 37/4ANorpipe 36/22ADistance from Ekofisk 2/4 J123 km235 kmDistance from Teesside231 km119 kmWater depth85 m81 mFabricatedMcDermott, ArdersierUIE Cherbourg and St WandrilleTotal weight9,750 tonnesInstalled19741974Operational14 October 19751975Drive3 × 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 hpFuelDiesel or crude oilDiesel or crude oilPump3 × Bingham 1-stage centrifugal pumps3 × Bingham 1-stage centrifugal pumpsGenerators3 × Bergen 640kVA diesel sets3 × Bergen 640kVA diesel setsPigging equipmentYesYesAccommodation2 storey, 24 beds 2 × double, 5 × four bed cabins3 storey, 31 beds 1 × single, 9 × double, 3 × four bedCrew10Firewater pumpsYesYesHelideckSuper PumaSuper PumaUtilitiesTelemetry, lube oil, chemicals, instrument and plant air, steam, potable water, cranes and lifting equipment2 × B-E MK 60 CranesShutdownNovember 19811977Occupation ceased19831983Pipeline bypass19941994Topsides removed20092009Jacket removed20102010
UK fields and Norpipe The following fields and installations export oil into the Norpipe pipeline. +Fields exporting to NorpipeFieldInstallationProduction toLengthDiameter, inchesYear commissionedEkofiskPlatform 2/4 JTeesside terminal354 km341975JudyPlatformNorpipe UK Tee via Northern Wye and Southern Wye241997JoanneSubseaJudy5.5 km2 x 12-inch2002JasminePlatformJudy6 miles162013JadePlatformJudy17.3 km162002StellaSemi-submersible FPF-1Southern Wye / Tanker44 km102016HarrierSubseaStella FPF-17 km2018FulmarPlatformSouthern Wye15.5 km241997 Fulmar had formerly used offshore tanker loadingAukPlatformFulmar12 km81975Auk NorthSubseaFulmar10.7 km82011GannetPlatformFulmar107 km161992ClydePlatformFulmar11 km161986OrionSubseaClyde16.3 km101999FlyndreSubseaClyde20 km82017
Throughput The total oil throughput of the terminal up to the end of 2021 was 104.585 million tonnes.
Natural gas pipeline The long Norpipe natural gas pipeline runs from Ekofisk to a receiving terminal at Emden in Germany. The diameter of pipeline is and it has capacity of of natural gas per year. The natural gas pipeline was commissioned in 1977 and will be in use until 2028. The start-up investment was 26.4 billion Norwegian krone. The pipeline is owned by Gassled and operated by Gassco. 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. The H7 platform has been off-the-service since 1999, and in 2007 a bypass pipe laid around the platform.
See also
Europipe I Europipe II Franpipe MIDAL
References
External links Norpipe (Gassco website)