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Easington Gas Terminal
Easington and Dimlington gas terminals
Easington Gas Terminal is located in East Riding of Yorkshire
Easington Gas Terminal
Shown within the East Riding of Yorkshire
Alternative namesEasington
General information
TypeGas terminal
LocationEasington, East Riding of Yorkshire,HU12 0TG
Coordinates53°39′17″N0°07′11″E/ 53.65480°N 0.11978°E/53.65480; 0.11978
Current tenantsCentrica Storage,Perenco-UK,Gassco
CompletedMarch 1967
OwnerCentrica Storage,Perenco-UK,Gassco
Technical details
Floor area87.5 acres (Dimlington)

TheEasington Gas Terminalis one of six maingas terminalsin the UK, and is situated on theNorth Seacoast atEasington, East Riding of Yorkshireand Dimlington. The other main gas terminals are atSt Fergus, Aberdeenshire;Bacton, Norfolk;Teesside;Theddlethorpe,Lincolnshire andRampside gas terminal,Barrow, Cumbria. The whole site consists of four plants: two run byPerenco,one byCentricaand one byGassco.[1]The Easington Gas Terminals are protected byMinistry of Defence Policeofficers[2]and are provided with resources by theCentre for the Protection of National Infrastructure.

History[edit]

BP Easington Terminal opened in March 1967.[3]This was the first time that North Sea Gas had been brought ashore in the UK from theWest Sole field.[4]In 1980British Gaspurchased the field Rough and in 1983 began conversion to a storage field. BP Dimlington opened in October 1988. BP's 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. Up to 20% of the winter peak demand for gas is exported from Easington via Feeder 9 through theHumber Gas Tunnel.[5]

Discovery of gas in the North Sea[edit]

Britain's first oil rig, theSea Gem,first discovered gas in the North Sea[6]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.[7]TheFortiesandBrentoilfields were discovered later in 1970[8]and 1971[9]respectively.

Langeled pipeline[edit]

Since October 2006, gas has been brought into the UK direct from the NorwegianSleipner gas fieldvia theLangeled pipeline,the world's longest subsea pipeline before the completion of the Nord Stream pipeline, owned byGasscowhich itself is owned by the Kingdom of Norway.[10]

Operation[edit]

The sites are run by and gas is produced by Perenco (after BP sold its operations to them in 2012),[11]Gassco and Centrica Storage Ltd. Gas can be transferred to and from theCentrica Storageplant at Easington dependent on grid demand. The control of the Perenco sites takes place at the Dimlington site, and conditioning of the gas also takes place there. The function that is at the Perenco Easington site is the connection to theNational Transmission System.Gas flows from the Easington terminal via a 24-inch diameter, 90-mile (140 km) pipeline known as Feeder No 1 across the Humber to Totley near Sheffield.[12]Perenco Easington used to compress gas as well, but from 2007–9, the construction of the £125 million Onshore Compression and Terminal Integration Project (OCTIP) situated all compression and processing from the gas fields at the Dimlington site.[13]As part of the facility, two RB211-GT61 gas turbines, built byRolls-Royce Energy SystemsinMount Vernon, Ohio,were installed in a £12.7 million contract.

The Langeled pipeline collects gas - around 20% of the UK's needs - from theNyhamna Gas Plant,and theOrmen Langegas field; from 2006-11, the Langeled pipeline was the longest undersea pipeline in the world

Centrica Rough Terminal[edit]

TheRough (facility)is a partially depleted offshore gas field that was converted for storage by British Gas. It is currently operated by Centrica Storage Ltd (a subsidiary of Centrica).[14]The Rough Terminal also processes gas for the newly developed York field.[15]The Rough Terminal used to receive gas from theAmethyst gasfieldwhich was until 1988 owned byBritoilbut this is now processed by Perenco. Since 2013 The Rough Terminal has also processed gas from the York field on behalf of Centrica Energy.

Langeled Receiving Facilities[edit]

The Langeled pipeline, which is controlled at the UK end by Gassco (Centrica Storage Ltd before 2011), can transfer up to 2,500 m cubic feet of gas per day fromNyhamnain Norway.[16]

Perenco Easington[edit]

The gas is collected from the Hyde, Hoton, Newsham and West Solenatural gas fields.[17]It can process up to 300 m cubic feet of gas per day. A gas turbine power generator is used to compress the gas.

Perenco Dimlington[edit]

Dimlingtonis the larger site of the four. Thenatural gas condensateis transferred to the Dimlington terminal. Dimlington also processes dry gas from the (former) Cleeton, Ravenspurn South, Ravenspurn North, Johnston, theEasington 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 Perenco's gas fields that ship gas to the Easington site. Dimlington can handle up to 950m cubic feet of gas per day.[18]

Fire risk[edit]

All sites are a considerable fire hazard, so have large water reservoirs for fire fighting containing about one million and three million litres of water each.[clarification needed]

View from the north in November 2008

Dimlington gas fields[edit]

Cleeton[edit]

Cleeton and Ravenspurn South form part of theVillages 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. Cleeton.

Ravenspurn South[edit]

Discovered in April 1983, 43 miles (70 km) off the East Riding of Yorkshire coast. Gas production began in October 1989. Gas via Cleeton to Dimlington. Named afterRavenspurn,the former coastal town. Owned and operated by Perenco.

Ravenspurn North[edit]

Discovered in October 1984 and developed in April 1988 by Hamilton Brothers. First gas produced in October 1989, and BP took over the operatorship of the field from BHP on 12 January 1998. Gas via Cleeton to Dimlington. Operated by Perenco and owned mostly by them, with smaller parts owned by Centrica Resources Ltd and E.ON Ruhrgas UK EU Ltd.

Johnston[edit]

Operated byE.ON Ruhrgas,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% byDana Petroleum(E&P) Ltd and E.ON Ruhrgas UK EU Ltd.

Babbage[edit]

Discovered in 1989 with the first gas being brought ashore in August 2010.[19]Gas will be transported via West Sole to Dimlington. Owned 40% byDana Petroleum(E&P) Ltd, 47% by E.ON Ruhrgas UK EU Ltd and 13% by Centrica Resources Ltd. Named after the mathematician,Charles Babbage.[20]

Easington Catchment Area[edit]

Consists of Neptune and Mercury fields. Operated byBG Group.Transported to Dimlington via BP's Cleeton.

Mercury discovered in February 1983 and production started in November 1999. Named after the planetMercury.73% owned by BG Group. Neptune discovered in November 1985 and production started in November 1999. Named after the planetNeptune.79% owned by BG Group.

Juno development[edit]

These are the most recent of the Dimlington gas fields. Named afterJuno,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 afterArtemisthe Greek hunter goddess. Apollo was discovered in July 1987, named afterApollothe Greek sungod, brother of Artemis. Minerva was discovered in January 1969, named after the Roman goddessMinerva.

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 afterWilliam Hyde Wollaston,the Norfolk chemist. Whittle was discovered in July 1990, and named afterFrank Whittle.

Easington gas fields[edit]

These fields are around 43 miles (70 km) off the East Riding of Yorkshire coast. These fields are connected to the national grid by BP and Rough Terminals. Some of these were one of the 'Villages' gas fields; named after villages lost to the sea along the Holderness coast. These villages include: Cleeton, Dimlington, Hoton, Hyde, Newsham and Ravenspurn.

West Sole[edit]

Main article:West Sole

Discovered in December 1965, 42 miles (68 km) east of the Humber. It is a faulted dome whose maximum dimensions are about 12 by 3 miles (19.3 by 4.8 km) wide, lying at a depth of 9,000 feet (2,700 m). The reservoir comprises about 400 feet (120 m) of Permian Rotliegendes sandstone, and the gas has a high methane content and low nitrogen (1.3%).[21]Gas first produced in March 1967. It had initial recoverable reserves of 61 billion m3.[22]Owned and operated by BP until 2012. Acquired by Perenco 2012

Hyde[edit]

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[edit]

Discovered in October 1989. Production began March 1996. Enters the West Sole pipeline. Owned and operated by BP.

Hoton[edit]

Discovered in February 1977. Gas first produced in December 2001. Owned and operated by BP. Named after Hoton, one of the East Riding of Yorkshire lost villages that fell into the sea due to coastal erosion.

Amethyst East and West[edit]

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 theAmethyst gasfield. Acquired by Perenco 2012

Rough[edit]

Discovered in May 1968. It had initial recoverable reserves of 14 billion m3.[22]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 byDynegyEurope Ltd in November 2001 for £421 million. BGSL became known as Dynegy Storage Ltd, based inSolihull.This company was bought by Centrica on 14 November 2002 for £304 million. Centrica was essentially buying the Easington plant. To operate the field Centrica has to comply with a set of undertakings laid down by DECC and Ofgem due to its unique position in the UK gas market.

York[edit]

Owned and operated by Centrica. Gas back to Centrica Rough Terminal via new pipeline.[23]

Helvellyn[edit]

Discovered in February 1985 with the first gas coming on stream in 2004. Operated byATP Oil and Gas.Owned 50% by ATP Oil & Gas (UK) Ltd and First Oil Expro Ltd.[24]Gas back to Easington via the Amethyst field. Named afterHelvellynin Cumbria.

Gas pipeline being built inNorth Yorkshirein June 2006, for connection to Easington

Rose[edit]

Discovered in March 1998. Owned and operated by Centrica with the gas pumped back to Easington via the Amethyst field. The operation started in 2004 and was plugged and abandoned in 2015.[25]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Gassco".www.gassco.no.Retrieved27 January2016.
  2. ^"MoD officers guard gas terminals".BBC.16 January 2007.Retrieved27 January2016.
  3. ^"National Gas Archive - History of the Gas Industry".www.gasarchive.org.Retrieved27 January2016.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^"Terrington DM - Case Study BP".terringtondm.com.Retrieved27 January2016.
  5. ^Casci, Mark (14 July 2020)."Work to complete the world's largest hydraulically inserted gas pipe completes under Humber Estuary".The Yorkshire Post.Retrieved15 December2020.
  6. ^Davey, Ed (21 February 2014)."North Sea still has vital role in keeping the lights on".The Telegraph.Retrieved27 January2016.
  7. ^Small, Sheona (9 January 2016)."Flawed gem turned triumph to tragedy".Cumbernauld News.Retrieved27 January2016.
  8. ^Macalister, Terry (11 October 2014)."The Forties oil field is 50, but there are no happy returns in the North Sea now".The Guardian.Retrieved27 January2016.
  9. ^"Shell announces end of Brent Alpha and Brent Bravo production".BBC News.29 October 2014.Retrieved27 January2016.
  10. ^Madslien, Jorn (24 June 2004)."New pipeline to deliver a fifth of UK gas".BBC.Retrieved27 January2016.
  11. ^"BP to sell gas assets stakes to Perenco UK".Offshore Technology.Retrieved27 January2016.
  12. ^Tiratsoo, E.N. (1972).Natural Gas.Beaconsfield: Scientific Press Limited. pp. 221–2.
  13. ^"BP Invests in New North Sea Gas Reserves".Offshore Technology.27 June 2007.Retrieved27 January2016.
  14. ^"Centrica Storage - About us - Who we are".Centrica SL.Retrieved27 January2016.
  15. ^"operational_guide.pdf"(PDF).Centrica SL. 20 July 2015. p. 5. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 9 September 2015.Retrieved27 January2016.
  16. ^Cooney, Michael (12 December 2012)."World's Longest Under Water Gas Pipeline, 1166km" Giant Serpent "- Industry Tap".Industry Tap.Retrieved27 January2016.
  17. ^"BP PLC - BP AGREES SALE OF SOUTHERN GAS ASSETS TO PERENCO".Morning Star.Retrieved27 January2016.
  18. ^"Perenco UK - Oil and Gas A Leading Independent Exploration and Production Company".www.perenco-uk.com.Retrieved27 January2016.
  19. ^"Babbage Gas Field, North Sea".Offshore Technology.Retrieved27 January2016.
  20. ^"Prices and technology drive 'dash' for North Sea Gas".BBC News.25 March 2013.Retrieved10 February2016.
  21. ^Tiratsoo, E.N. (1972).Natural Gas.Beaconsfield: Scientific Press Ltd. p. 208.
  22. ^abCassidy, Richard (1979).Gas: Natural Energy.London: Frederick Muller Limited. p. 54.
  23. ^"New Gas Flow At Terminal Costain".costain.com.13 May 2013.Retrieved27 January2016.
  24. ^"Helvellyn".First Oil Expro.Archived fromthe originalon 5 February 2016.Retrieved28 January2016.
  25. ^"Rose Decommissioning Programmes"(PDF).Centrica Energy. 15 May 2015. p. 6.Retrieved28 January2016.

External links[edit]

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