Gassco owns and operates most of the domestic and export pipelines in Norway, as well as onshore receiving facilities. The domestic pipeline network consists of numerous subsea systems that bring offshore production ashore for further processing. The Asgard Transport System (ATS) links the Asgard and numerous nearby fields in the Norwegian sea to the receiving terminal at Karsto; the 42-inch, 440-mile ATS has a capacity of 706 Bcf per year.
The Karsto facility also receives natural gas via the Statpipe system, which brings 320-Bcf/y ashore from the Statfjord area; an outbound extension of the Statpipe carries gas from the Karsto terminal to an interface with the Norpipe near the Ekofisk platform. The 80-Bcf/y Haltenpipe connects the Heudrum field with a gas receiving terminal and methanol plant at Tjeldbergodden. The system connecting the Kollsnes processing facility with the Troll and Kvitebjorn fields has a maximum capacity of 4.2 Bcf/d.
Norway operates numerous natural gas pipeline connects with the rest of Europe. Some connection run from production facilities directly to receiving terminals in export markets, while others connect Norway's onshore processing facilities to these markets. Many pipelines run through riser platforms in the North Sea, hubs that allow different pipeline systems to interface and provide pressure regulation and quantity metering; the most important such platforms are the Draupner, Sleipner, and Heimdal platforms.
The 520-mile Franpipe carries 530 Bcf/y from the Troll and Sleipner fields to Dunkerque, France. The Zeepipe I carries 460 Bcf/y from the Sleipner system to Zeebruge, Belgium; an expansion of the system, Zeepipe II, connects the Kollsnes terminal to the Sleipner and Draupner riser platforms, where gas can then flow through the Zeepipe I to Belgium. Three pipelines connect Norwegian natural gas production with Germany: the 290-mile, 640 Bcf/y Europipe I connects the Draupner riser platform to Dornum, Germany, the 410-mile, 850-Bcf/y Europipe II connects the Karsto terminal to Dornum, and the 500-Bcf/y Norpipe connects the Karsto terminal (via the Statpipe) to Emden. Finally, Total operates the Frigg gas pipeline, connecting Norway's Frigg field to the gas receiving terminal at St. Fergus, Scotland.
In June 2005, Norsk Hydro began construction on the Langeled gas pipeline linking Norway's Ormen Lange natural gas field to Easington, England. The project includes two subsea pipes connecting Ormen Lange to a new receiving terminal at Nyhamna and a 750-mile pipeline linking Nyhamma to Easington via the Sleipner riser platform.
Langeled will be the longest subsea pipeline in the world, with an initial capacity of 1.9 Bcf/d and planned maximum capacity of 2.9 Bcf/d. Shell will take over the Langeled pipeline in the operational phase, and the company expects construction on the $10.3 billion project to finish by 2007.
Source: Energy Information Administration