Statpipe


The Statpipe pipeline is a natural gas system, which links northern North Sea gas fields with Norway's gas export system. It transports gas from Statfjord, Gullfaks, Heimdal, Veslefrikk, Snorre, Brage and Tordis gas fields.

History

The Statpipe was developed by Statoil. The development plan was approved by the Norwegian Parliament on 10 June 1981. The rich gas pipeline from Statfjord became operational on 25 March 1985 and the dry gas pipeline from Kårstø to Ekofisk field came on stream on 15 October 1985. The Draupner S riser platform was installed in 1984 as part of the Statpipe system. In 1998, the Statpipe was connected directly with the Norpipe. On 1 January 2003, the Statpipe was merged into Gassled partnership and Gassco became the operator of the pipeline.

Technical features

The total length of the Statpipe system is. It consists of both rich and dry gas pipelines. The long rich gas pipeline runs from Statfjord field to the Kårstø gas processing plant. It has branch lines from Snorre and Gulfaks fields. The internal diameter of this pipe is and capacity is 9.7 billion cubic metre of natural gas per year.
The first leg of the dry gas pipeline runs from Kårstø to the Draupner S riser platform in the North Sea. The length of this line is. The internal diameter of the pipe is and capacity is 7.6 bcm of natural gas per year. The second leg runs for from the Heimdal platform in the North Sea to Draupner S. The diameter of this pipe is and capacity 11 bcm per year. The Draupner S riser platform ties the Statpipe lines from Heimdal and Kårstø together for onward transmission to Ekofisk. The internal diameter of this section is, and it runs for further south, where a bypass around Ekofisk complex takes the Statpipe directly into Norpipe.
In summary the pipelines' details are as follows.
StartTerminalLength, kmDiameter, inches
StatfjordKalstoe28630
Kalstoe16/11S20828
16/11S2/4S19136
Heimdal16/11S15536
KalstoeKaarstoe2 × 2028/30

The details of the Statpipe riser platforms are as follows.
PlatformDraupner S 2/4S
Coordinates58°11′19.60″N 2°28′21.6″E
TypeSteel jacketSteel jacket
FunctionRiserRiser
Water depth, m7070
Design and engineeringJohn Brown OffshoreJohn Brown Offshore
Jacket fabricationAker Trondelag, VerdalHighlands Fabricators, Nigg
Deck fabricationAker Verdal/Stord VerftHaugesund Mek Verksted
Jacket weight, tonnes16,50016,500
Legs44
Piles1616
Topsides weight, tonnes7,6706,000
Accommodation48Bridge link to Ekofisk centre
Installation jacketSummer 1983Summer 1983
Installation topsidesSummer 1984Summer 1984
Production startJanuary 1986January 1986

Ownership

The pipeline is owned by Gassled, operated by Gassco, and the technical service provider is Statoil.