Frigg Transportation System

Gas arrives at the St Fergus Gas Terminal through the Frigg Transportation System (FTS) which comprises of two 32" pipelines, each 362 km in length. The UK pipeline which is owned by Total E&P UK transports gas from the following fields: • Alwyn North, Dunbar, Ellon, Grant, Nuggets • Rob Roy, Ivanhoe, Hamish, R-Block • Bruce, Keith • Piper, Saltire, Chanter, MacCulloch • Tartan, Petronella, Highlander, Galley • Captain, Ross, Blake

The Norwegian pipeline is called Vesterled and was extended in 2001 to the Heimdal riser platform in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. This enables the continued export of existing resources in the Norwegian sector to the St Fergus Gas Terminal. This pipeline is owned by the Gassled partners.

Our St Fergus operation also receives gas through a pipeline from the Miller field. This gas which contains H2S is heated at the terminal and de-pressurised to prevent liquid hydrocarbons condensing in the pipeline. It is then sent directly from the reception facilities to the Peterhead Power station through an underground pipeline. The Miller facilities are separate from the other terminal facilities due to the nature of the gas. These facilities are owned jointly by the Miller Partners – BP, ConocoPhillips, Shell and Total.

Although the Frigg field, which sparked the birth of the terminal at St Fergus is nearing the end of its life, the FTS will continue to operate to full capacity for some time to come, providing an economic route to the market for many North Sea fields. The majority of the gas transported by the UK pipeline comes from the Alwyn Area and Bruce fields with a number of smaller fields linking into it. The not-normally manned MCP-01 platform, which once provided a base for gas recompression, now provides an entry point to the FTS for several fields around Piper and Tartan. MCP-01 is scheduled to be decommissioned, subject to all necessary approvals. This process is planned to take place over a number of years from 2004.

Alwyn Area gas is fed through a 24" subsea pipeline to the Frigg TP1 platform where it enters a 32" pipeline for the remaining journey to St Fergus. When the Frigg field is abandoned in 2004, a subsea bypass of the TP1 will be laid to connect these two pipelines. For further information on the Frigg Field decommissioning, click here.