Norpipe


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 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. 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, TotalFinaElf Exploration Norge AS, Statoil, Eni Norge AS, and SDFI. 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.
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 2-Stage axial gas turbines 11,800 / 14,400 hp3 × GE 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.
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 was: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.