Domestic Pipeline System
There are four main pipeline systems in the UK that carry natural gas from offshore platforms to coastal landing terminals. First, the Shearwater-Elgin Line (SEAL), operated by Total, transports gas from the Shearwater-Elgin area to the landing terminal at Bacton, England. Second, ExxonMobil operates the 200-mile, 30-inch Scottish Area Gas Evacuation (SAGE), which transports associated natural gas from UKGS fields to the landing terminal at St. Fergus, Scotland. Third, the 250-mile, 36-inch Central Area Transmission System (CATS), operated by BP, links fields in the Graben area of the UKCS to Teeside. Finally, Shell operates the Far North Liquids and Gas System (FLAGS) linking associated gas deposits in the Brent oil system with St. Fergus. Once brought onshore, the responsibility for transporting natural gas throughout the country belongs to NGT. The company operates over 4,200 miles of transmission lines in the UK.
A consortium of companies, led by BG, Ruhrgas, and Distrigas, operates the Interconnector pipeline between Bacton, England and Zeebrugge, Belgium. The Interconnector, inaugurated in 1998, is capable of bi-direction operation, meaning either it can export natural gas from the UK to continental Europe (Forward Mode), or it can import natural gas into the UK (Reverse Mode). For most of its career, the Interconnector operated in Forward Mode, with a capacity of 1.9 Bcf/d. However, since mid-2005, the system has operated mostly in Reverse Mode, with a recent expansion increasing this capacity to 1.6 Bcf/d. The operators of the Interconnector plan to expand the systems Reverse Mode capacity to 2.3 Bcf/d by the end of 2006. The UK also imports natural gas through the Frigg pipeline system, operated by Total. Frigg connects the St. Fergus gas terminal with the Frigg gas field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. Finally, the UK-Eire Interconnector connects the UK with the Republic of Ireland, running from Moffat, Scotland to Dublin.
In 2003, the UK and Norway finalized the necessary political conditions for construction of the Langeled pipeline system linking Norways Ormen Lange natural gas field to Easington, England. The 750-mile Langeled would be the longest sub sea pipeline in the world, with an initial capacity of 1.9 Bcf/d and planned maximum capacity of 2.9 Bcf/d. Construction on the project has begun, with completion expected by 2007. Gasunie plans to build a 146-mile gas pipeline linking Balgzand, the Netherlands to Bacton, England. Initial construction on the Balgzand-Bacton Line (BBL) began in October 2004, with completion of the project expected by the end of 2006. According to Gasunie, the BBL will have an initial capacity of 1.1 Bcf/d, with a maximum capacity of 1.7 Bcf/d.
Currently, the UK has a single LNG import terminal, the NGTs Grain LNG on the Isle of Grain. The facility has a sendout capacity of 420 Bcf/d, which NGT plans to expand to 1.3 Bcf/d by the end of 2007. Algerias Sonatrach and BP are the principle importers using the terminal.
ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum have received regulatory approval for the South Hook LNG receiving terminal in Milton Haven, Wales. The terminal will receive its LNG from the Qatargas II liquefaction project in Ras Laffin, Qatar, which is also a joint project between the two companies. The South Hook LNG project should come online by 2007, with an initial capacity of 1.0 Bcf/d and a maximum capacity of 2.1 Bcf/d by 2009. Finally, BG has collaborated with Netherlands-based Petroplus and Malaysia-based Petronas to also build an LNG receiving terminal in Milton Haven, on the site of an existing natural gas storage facility owned by Petroplus. Dragon received regulatory approval from Ofgem in early 2005, and the project should start receiving cargos by the end of 2008 at an initial sendout capacity of 580 Mmcf/d.