Easington Gas Terminal
Encyclopedia
The Easington Gas Terminal is one of three main gas terminals in the UK, and is situated on the North Sea
coast at Easington, East Riding of Yorkshire
and Dimlington. The other two main gas terminals are at St Fergus, Aberdeenshire and Bacton, Norfolk
. The whole site consists of three plants: two run by BP and one by Centrica.
, first discovered gas in the North Sea on 20 August 1965. It was not a large enough field, but at the time it was not even known that there was a large amount of gas under the North Sea. Unfortunately the rig sank in December later that year, when it capsized. The Forties
and Brent
oilfields were discovered later in 1970 and 1971 respectively.
via the Langeled pipeline
, the world's longest subsea pipeline owned by Gassco
which itself is owned by the Kingdom of Norway.
, although gas is eventually transferred to a separate Centrica Storage
plant at Easington, who control the UK mainland gas network. The control of the whole site actually takes place at the Dimlington site, and conditioning of the gas actually takes place there. The only function that is at the Easington site is the connection to the National Transmission System
. Easington used to compress gas as well, but from 2007-9, the construction of the £125m Onshore Compression and Terminal Integration Project (OCTIP) situated all compression and processing from the gas fields at the Dimlington site. As part of the facility, two RB211-GT61 gas turbines, built by Rolls Royce Energy Systems
in Mount Vernon, Ohio
, were installed in a £12.7m contract.
in Norway. The Rough Field is a depleted offshore gas field that is used for storage by Centrica, and the Rough Terminal receives gas from the Amethyst gasfield
which was until 1988 owned by Britoil
.
s. It can process up to 300m cubic feet of gas per day. A gas turbine power generator is used to compress the gas.
is transferred to the Dimlington terminal. Dimlington also processes dry gas from the (former) Cleeton, Ravenspurn South, Ravenspurn North, Johnston, the Easington Catchment Area
(Neptune and Mercury), and the Juno development (Whittle, Wollaston, Minerva and Apollo) gas fields. The Dimlington site has the control room for all of BP's gas fields that ship gas to the Easington site. Dimlington can handle up to 950m cubic feet of gas per day.
Close to the north is the Out Newton
wind farm.
.
, the former coastal town. Owned and operated by BP,
, and previously to them, Caledonia EU, and also by Consort EU Ltd. Discovered in April 1990. Gas first produced in October 1994. Pipeline to Dimlington via Ravenspurn North and Cleeton. Owned 50% by Dana Petroleum
(E&P) Ltd and E.ON Ruhrgas UK EU Ltd.
(E&P) Ltd, 47% by E.ON Ruhrgas UK EU Ltd and 13% by Centrica Resources Ltd . Named after the mathematician, Charles Babbage
.
. Transported to Dimlington via BP's Cleeton.
Mercury discovered in February 1983 and production started in November 1999. Named after the planet Mercury
. 73% owned by BG Group.
Neptune discovered in November 1985 and production started in November 1999. named after the planet Neptune
. 79% owned by BG Group.
, the Roman goddess.
BG Group operates the Minerva, Apollo and Artemis fields, and owns 65% of these fields. Production started in 2003.
Artemis was discovered in August 1974, and named after Artemis
the Greek hunter goddess.
Apollo was discovered in July 1987, named after Apollo
the Greek sungod, brother of Artemis.
Minerva was discovered in January 1969, named after the Roman goddess Minerva
.
BP operates the Whittle and Wollaston fields. They are 30% owned by BG Group. Production started in 2002.
Wollaston was discovered in April 1989, and named after William Hyde Wollaston
, the Norfolk chemist.
Whittle was discovered in July 1990, and named after Frank Whittle
.
in Leicestershire
.
.
Europe Ltd in November 2001 for £421m. BGSL became known as Dynegy Storage Ltd, based in Solihull
. This company was bought by Centrica on November 14, 2002 for £304m. Centrica was essentially buying the Easington plant.
. Owned 50% by ATP Oil & Gas (UK) Ltd and First Oil Expro Ltd. Gas back to Easington via the Amethyst field. Named after Helvellyn
in Cumbria
.
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
coast at Easington, East Riding of Yorkshire
Easington, East Riding of Yorkshire
Easington is a small village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England in the area known as Holderness. It is situated between the Humber estuary and the North Sea at the south-eastern corner of the county at the end of the B1445 road from Patrington.The civil parish is formed by...
and Dimlington. The other two main gas terminals are at St Fergus, Aberdeenshire and Bacton, Norfolk
Bacton Gas Terminal
The Bacton Gas Terminal is a large gas terminal found on the North Sea coast in North Norfolk near Paston and between Bacton and Mundesley. The nearest main town is North Walsham. The other main UK gas terminals are at St Fergus, Aberdeenshire and the Easington, East Riding of...
. The whole site consists of three plants: two run by BP and one by Centrica.
History
It opened in March 1967. This was the first time that North Sea Gas had been brought ashore in the UK from the West Sole field. The Dimlington site opened in October 1988. The Ravenspurn North field was added in 1990 and the Johnston field was added in 1994. The Easington Catchment Area was added in 2000, and the Juno development in 2003.Discovery of gas in the North Sea
Britain's first oil rig, the Sea GemSea Gem
The Sea Gem was the first British offshore oil rig, and the first British offshore rig disaster when in 1965, the rig's legs collapsed, killing 13 of the crew.-Background:...
, first discovered gas in the North Sea on 20 August 1965. It was not a large enough field, but at the time it was not even known that there was a large amount of gas under the North Sea. Unfortunately the rig sank in December later that year, when it capsized. The Forties
Forties oilfield
The Forties Oil Field is the largest oil field in the North Sea, 110 miles east of Aberdeen. It was discovered in 1970 and first produced oil in 1975 under ownership of BP.-History:...
and Brent
Brent oilfield
The Brent field is an oil field located in the East Shetland Basin north-east of Lerwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland at the water depth of . The field operated by Shell UK Limited was once one of the most productive parts of the UK's offshore assets but is now nearing the end of its useful...
oilfields were discovered later in 1970 and 1971 respectively.
Langeled pipeline
Since October 2006, gas has been brought into the UK direct from the Norwegian Sleipner gas fieldSleipner gas field
The Sleipner gas field is a natural gas field in the North Sea, about west of Stavanger, Norway. Two parts of the field are in production, Sleipner West , and Sleipner East . The field produces natural gas and light oil condensates from sandstone structures about below sea level. It is operated...
via the Langeled pipeline
Langeled pipeline
The Langeled pipeline is an underwater pipeline transporting Norwegian natural gas to the United Kingdom. Before the completion of the Nord Stream pipeline, it was the longest subsea pipeline in the world.-History:...
, the world's longest subsea pipeline owned by Gassco
Gassco
Gassco is a Norwegian state owned company that operates of natural gas pipes transporting annually of 88.5 billion cubic meter of natural gas from the Norwegian continental shelf to Continental Europe and the United Kingdom....
which itself is owned by the Kingdom of Norway.
Operation
The sites are run by and the gas is produced by BPBP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
, although gas is eventually transferred to a separate Centrica Storage
Centrica
Centrica plc is a multinational utility company, based in the United Kingdom but also with interests in North America. Centrica is the largest supplier of gas to domestic customers in the UK, and one of the largest suppliers of electricity, operating under the trading names "Scottish Gas" in...
plant at Easington, who control the UK mainland gas network. The control of the whole site actually takes place at the Dimlington site, and conditioning of the gas actually takes place there. The only function that is at the Easington site is the connection to the National Transmission System
National Transmission System
The National Transmission System is the network of large-diameter gas pipelines throughout the United Kingdom that supply gas to 40 power stations from natural gas terminals situated on the coast, and also gas distribution companies which lead indirectly to homes.-Similarity to the National...
. Easington used to compress gas as well, but from 2007-9, the construction of the £125m Onshore Compression and Terminal Integration Project (OCTIP) situated all compression and processing from the gas fields at the Dimlington site. As part of the facility, two RB211-GT61 gas turbines, built by Rolls Royce Energy Systems
Rolls-Royce North America
Rolls-Royce North America, Inc. is a subsidiary of Rolls-Royce plc involved principally in the manufacture of gas turbine engines and other propulsion systems...
in Mount Vernon, Ohio
Mount Vernon, Ohio
Mount Vernon is a city in Knox County, Ohio, United States. The population was 16,990 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Knox County. The city is named after Mount Vernon, the plantation owned by George Washington.-History:...
, were installed in a £12.7m contract.
Centrica Rough Terminal and Langeled Receiving Facilities
The Langeled pipeline, which is controlled at the UK end by Centrica, can transfer up to 2500m cubic feet of gas per day from NyhamnaAukra
Aukra is a village and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the region of Romsdalen. The administrative centre is the village of Aukra....
in Norway. The Rough Field is a depleted offshore gas field that is used for storage by Centrica, and the Rough Terminal receives gas from the Amethyst gasfield
Amethyst gasfield
Amethyst is a natural gas field in the Southern North Sea, about east of the Yorkshire coast. The gas lies in a Permian sandstone reservoir around below the seabed. The gasfield is operated by BP.-History:...
which was until 1988 owned by Britoil
Britoil
Britoil was originally a privatised British oil company operating in the North Sea. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...
.
BP Easington
The gas is collected from the Hyde, Hoton, Newsham and West Sole natural gas fieldNatural gas field
Oil and natural gas are produced by the same geological process according fossil fuel suggestion: anaerobic decay of organic matter deep under the Earth's surface. As a consequence, oil and natural gas are often found together...
s. It can process up to 300m cubic feet of gas per day. A gas turbine power generator is used to compress the gas.
BP Dimlington
Dimlington is the larger site of the two. The natural gas condensateNatural gas condensate
Natural-gas condensate is a low-density mixture of hydrocarbon liquids that are present as gaseous components in the raw natural gas produced from many natural gas fields....
is transferred to the Dimlington terminal. Dimlington also processes dry gas from the (former) Cleeton, Ravenspurn South, Ravenspurn North, Johnston, the Easington Catchment Area
Easington Catchment Area
The Easington Catchment Area is a group of natural gas producing fields in the North Sea. They lie between 25 and 30 miles from the Yorkshire coast....
(Neptune and Mercury), and the Juno development (Whittle, Wollaston, Minerva and Apollo) gas fields. The Dimlington site has the control room for all of BP's gas fields that ship gas to the Easington site. Dimlington can handle up to 950m cubic feet of gas per day.
Fire risk
All three sites are a considerable fire hazard, so both have large water reservoirs for fire fighting containing about one million and three million litres of water each.Close to the north is the Out Newton
Out Newton
Out Newton is a hamlet in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, in an area known as Holderness. It is situated approximately south east of Withernsea, just inland from the North Sea coast.It forms part of the civil parish of Easington....
wind farm.
Cleeton
Cleeton and Ravenspurn South form part of the Villages Complex. Both were discovered in 1976. Gas production began in April 1987. Production stopped in 1999. Now used as a hub for the Easington Catchment Area. Named after the scientist, Claud E. CleetonClaud E. Cleeton
Claud Edwin Cleeton was a physicist notable for his groundbreaking work, with Neal H. Williams, on the microwave spectroscopy of ammonia. This was the groundwork that led to the eventual development of the radar.-Education:...
.
Ravenspurn South
Discovered in April 1983. 70 km off the East Yorkshire coast. Gas production began in October 1989. Gas via Cleeton to Dimlington. Named after RavenspurnRavenspurn
Ravenspurn was a town in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, which was lost due to coastal erosion, one of more than 30 along the Holderness Coast which have been lost to the North Sea since the 19th century. The town was located close to the end of a peninsula near Ravenser Odd, which has also...
, the former coastal town. Owned and operated by BP,
Ravenspurn North
Discovered in October 1984 and developed in April 1988 by Hamilton Brothers. First gas produced in October 1989, and BP bought the field on 12 January 1998. Gas via Cleeton to Dimlington. Operated by BP and owned mostly by BP, with smaller parts owned by Centrica Resources Ltd and E.ON Ruhrgas UK EU Ltd.Johnston
Operated by E.ON RuhrgasE.ON
E.ON AG, marketed with an interpunct as E•ON, is the holding company of the world's largest investor-owned energy service provider based in Düsseldorf, Germany. The name comes from the Greek word aeon which means eternity....
, and previously to them, Caledonia EU, and also by Consort EU Ltd. Discovered in April 1990. Gas first produced in October 1994. Pipeline to Dimlington via Ravenspurn North and Cleeton. Owned 50% by Dana Petroleum
Dana Petroleum
Dana Petroleum is a Korean-owned, British-based oil and gas exploration and production company. Its activities are focused on the North Sea and Africa. It is headquartered in Aberdeen and is a former constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...
(E&P) Ltd and E.ON Ruhrgas UK EU Ltd.
Babbage
Discovered in 1989, and first gas is planned for early 2010. Gas will be transported via West Sole to Dimlington. Owned 40% by Dana PetroleumDana Petroleum
Dana Petroleum is a Korean-owned, British-based oil and gas exploration and production company. Its activities are focused on the North Sea and Africa. It is headquartered in Aberdeen and is a former constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...
(E&P) Ltd, 47% by E.ON Ruhrgas UK EU Ltd and 13% by Centrica Resources Ltd . Named after the mathematician, Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage, FRS was an English mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer who originated the concept of a programmable computer...
.
Easington Catchment Area
Consists of Neptune and Mercury fields. Operated by BG GroupBG Group
BG Group plc is a global oil and gas company headquartered in Reading, United Kingdom. It has operations in 25 countries across Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, North America and South America and produces around 680,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. It has a major Liquefied Natural Gas ...
. Transported to Dimlington via BP's Cleeton.
Mercury discovered in February 1983 and production started in November 1999. Named after the planet Mercury
Mercury (planet)
Mercury is the innermost and smallest planet in the Solar System, orbiting the Sun once every 87.969 Earth days. The orbit of Mercury has the highest eccentricity of all the Solar System planets, and it has the smallest axial tilt. It completes three rotations about its axis for every two orbits...
. 73% owned by BG Group.
Neptune discovered in November 1985 and production started in November 1999. named after the planet Neptune
Neptune
Neptune is the eighth and farthest planet from the Sun in the Solar System. Named for the Roman god of the sea, it is the fourth-largest planet by diameter and the third largest by mass. Neptune is 17 times the mass of Earth and is slightly more massive than its near-twin Uranus, which is 15 times...
. 79% owned by BG Group.
Juno development
These are the most recent of the Dimlington gas fields. Named after JunoJuno (mythology)
Juno is an ancient Roman goddess, the protector and special counselor of the state. She is a daughter of Saturn and sister of the chief god Jupiter and the mother of Mars and Vulcan. Juno also looked after the women of Rome. Her Greek equivalent is Hera...
, the Roman goddess.
BG Group operates the Minerva, Apollo and Artemis fields, and owns 65% of these fields. Production started in 2003.
Artemis was discovered in August 1974, and named after Artemis
Artemis
Artemis was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. Her Roman equivalent is Diana. Some scholars believe that the name and indeed the goddess herself was originally pre-Greek. Homer refers to her as Artemis Agrotera, Potnia Theron: "Artemis of the wildland, Mistress of Animals"...
the Greek hunter goddess.
Apollo was discovered in July 1987, named after Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
the Greek sungod, brother of Artemis.
Minerva was discovered in January 1969, named after the Roman goddess Minerva
Minerva
Minerva was the Roman goddess whom Romans from the 2nd century BC onwards equated with the Greek goddess Athena. She was the virgin goddess of poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts, magic...
.
BP operates the Whittle and Wollaston fields. They are 30% owned by BG Group. Production started in 2002.
Wollaston was discovered in April 1989, and named after William Hyde Wollaston
William Hyde Wollaston
William Hyde Wollaston FRS was an English chemist and physicist who is famous for discovering two chemical elements and for developing a way to process platinum ore.-Biography:...
, the Norfolk chemist.
Whittle was discovered in July 1990, and named after Frank Whittle
Frank Whittle
Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE, CB, FRS, Hon FRAeS was a British Royal Air Force engineer officer. He is credited with independently inventing the turbojet engine Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE, CB, FRS, Hon FRAeS (1 June 1907 – 9 August 1996) was a British Royal Air...
.
West Sole
Discovered in December 1965. Gas first produced in March 1967. Owned and operated by BP.Hyde
Discovered in May 1982. Gas first produced in August 1993. Was owned 55% by BP and 45% by Statoil. BP took control in January 1997, in exchange for its Jupiter gas field.Newsham
Discovered in October 1989. Production began March 1996. Enters the West Sole pipeline. Owned and operated by BP.Hoton
Discovered in February 1977. Gas first produced in December 2001. Owned and operated by BP. Named after HotonHoton
Hoton is a village and civil parish in the Charnwood district of Leicestershire, England. The parish has a population of around 350. It is on the A60, north-east of Loughborough. The village is just south of the border with Nottinghamshire. Nearby places are Prestwold , Wymeswold , and...
in Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
.
Amethyst East and West
Amethyst East discovered in October 1972 and Amethyst West in April 1970. Owned 59.5% by BP, 24% by BG Group, 9% by Centrica, and 7.5% by Murphy. Amethyst East began in October 1990 and Amethyst West in July 1992. Control of the platform is entirely from Dimlington and therefore operated by BP. Comprises the Amethyst gasfieldAmethyst gasfield
Amethyst is a natural gas field in the Southern North Sea, about east of the Yorkshire coast. The gas lies in a Permian sandstone reservoir around below the seabed. The gasfield is operated by BP.-History:...
.
Rough
Discovered in May 1968. Gas production began in 1975, and it was bought by British Gas in 1980. In 1983, they decided to convert it into gas storage. The gas storage started February 1985. As a depleted gas field, it is used as a storage facility, for essentially the whole of the UK, giving four days worth of gas. Originally owned by BG Storage Ltd (BGSL), who were bought by DynegyDynegy
Dynegy Inc. , based in Houston, Texas, United States, is a large owner and operator of power plants and a player in the natural gas liquids and coal business...
Europe Ltd in November 2001 for £421m. BGSL became known as Dynegy Storage Ltd, based in Solihull
Solihull
Solihull is a town in the West Midlands of England with a population of 94,753. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles southeast of Birmingham city centre...
. This company was bought by Centrica on November 14, 2002 for £304m. Centrica was essentially buying the Easington plant.
Helvellyn
Discovered in February 1985. Operated by ATP Oil and GasATP Oil and Gas
ATP Oil & Gas Corporation is a Houston, Texas based company that develops and produces oil and natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea. It specializes in developing reserves. ATP trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol ATPG....
. Owned 50% by ATP Oil & Gas (UK) Ltd and First Oil Expro Ltd. Gas back to Easington via the Amethyst field. Named after Helvellyn
Helvellyn
Helvellyn is a mountain in the English Lake District, the apex of the Eastern Fells. At above sea level, it is the third highest peak in both the Lake District and England...
in Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
.
Rose
Discovered in March 1998. Owned and operated by Centrica. Gas back to Easington via the Amethyst field.See also
- List of oil and gas fields of the North Sea
- Oil fields operated by BPOil fields operated by BP- United Kingdom :All fields in British territory are operated as part of the BP's North Sea Strategic Performance Unit from their office in Dyce, Aberdeen. This includes some fields not strictly in the North Sea itself...
- St Fergus Gas Plant
- Bacton Gas TerminalBacton Gas TerminalThe Bacton Gas Terminal is a large gas terminal found on the North Sea coast in North Norfolk near Paston and between Bacton and Mundesley. The nearest main town is North Walsham. The other main UK gas terminals are at St Fergus, Aberdeenshire and the Easington, East Riding of...
External links
- Centrica Storage
- BP Asset Portfolio (PDF)
- Easington Gas terminal at BP North Sea Infrastructure
- Dimlington Gas Terminal at BP NSI
- BG Group's gas fields
- Emergency advice for residents of Easington
- BBC Coast - Newcastle to Hull
- Oil and Gas at the DECC (Department of Energy and Climate ChangeDepartment of Energy and Climate ChangeThe Department of Energy and Climate Change is a British government department created on 3 October 2008 by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to take over some of the functions of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs...
- formerly controlled by BERRDepartment for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory ReformThe Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform was a United Kingdom government department. The department was created on 28 June 2007 on the disbanding of the Department of Trade and Industry , and was itself disbanded on 6 June 2009 on the creation of the Department for Business,...
) - Dynegy buys BG Storage in November 2001 (PDF)
- Centrica buys Dynegy Storage in November 2002
- Centrica's purchase of the plant at Ofgem