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the company/overview
3/three
TOTAL E&P UK Limited is one of the largest oil and gas companies in
the UK and part of the global business of the TOTAL Group, the fourth
largest integrated oil and gas company in the world. The TOTAL Group,
which has its headquarters in Paris, has operations in 130 countries and
employs almost 100,000 people worldwide.
The Group’s operations cover the entire
range of oil and gas related activities,
including exploration & production,
trading & shipping and refining &
marketing - as well as the manufacture
and supply of a comprehensive range of
chemical products.
The UK Upstream subsidiary, TOTAL E&P
UK, has its headquarters in Aberdeen,
Europe’s oil and gas capital, and is one of
the largest operators on the UK Continental Shelf in terms of
production and reserves.
The company employs over 700 people, split between its on-
shore sites and its offshore facilities. Being part of an international
Group means that the workforce includes both local and
expatriate staff, drawn from more than 30 countries.
With its affiliates, TOTAL E&P UK owns and operates the Alwyn
North, Dunbar, Ellon, Grant, Nuggets, Forvie, Jura and Otter
fields in the Northern North Sea. It also operates the Elgin,
Franklin, West Franklin and Glenelg Fields in the Central Graben
Area of the Central North Sea.
The company and its UK affiliates also have a number of non-operated
interests in the Central and Northern North Sea including Bruce, ETAP,
Alba, Armada and Nelson and has an interest in the Sullom Voe Oil
Terminal on Shetland.
Onshore, TOTAL E&P UK operates the St Fergus Gas Terminal on the
northeast coast of Scotland, which receives and processes up to
20% of the UK’s natural gas requirements from over 20 fields in the UK
and Norway. It owns 100% of the Terminal’s facilities and 50% of the
Common Facilities, the remainder of the plant being owned by the
Norwegian Association, Gassled.
The company has a 100% interest in the UK Frigg pipeline (FUKA), an
interest in the SEAL (Shearwater Elgin Area Line) pipeline through Elgin
Franklin Oil and Gas Limited (EFOG), which is owned 77.5% by Elf
Exploration UK Limited and 22.5% by Gaz de France. EFOG has a 25.73
per cent share in SEAL.
4/four
The welfare of its workforce is TOTAL E&P UK’s top priority and it conducts all its activities taking full account of the health and safety of its people, ensuring the safest possible working environment and the prevention of work-related illness. Our goal is to achieve an accident-free work environment and thinking ‘Safety First’ is the responsibility of all staff at their work locations, whether onshore or offshore. Best in class environmental performance is another major goal.
We set measurable safety, health and environmental objectives and work hard to improve performance, making sure that all our staff and contractors are fully equipped to understand and implement our procedures. In addition, we work with partners, suppliers, competitors, regulators and the general public in developing and testing our emergency plans, which we believe help to set and raise industry standards.
We also encourage a broad culture of openness and co-operation in the firm belief that this creates a positive attitude towards the advancement in understanding and improvement of performance in the areas of safety, health and environment – all of which is reviewed and audited. Those who contribute directly to improvements are recognised and performance evaluations for all employees include safety, health and environmental aspects. This is particularly important for those employees with managerial or supervisory responsibilities.
producing safely/our top priority
5/five
TOTAL E&P UK continues to maintain its company-wide registration to ISO-14001, the international Environment Management System standard. This is globally recognised as reflecting a level of ‘good business practice’ and underlines a company’s genuine commitment to sustainable development. We are very proud of this achievement and through the maintenance and improvement of our management systems, hope to continue improving our environmental performance.
The Terminal also holds EMAS (Eco-Management Audit Scheme) accreditation, as well as ISO 14001 certification, which represents the highest international standards of environmental management. EMAS accreditation aims to recognise and reward those who go above the minimum legal compliance and continuously improve their environmental performance, which is also a key requirement of ISO 14001 certification.
2008 saw the launch of TOTAL E&P UK’s Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) Vision – five individual elements that work together to drive our SHE performance. These five areas – competence, supervision, SHE culture, risk assessment and asset integrity – will give us clear platforms on which to focus our efforts in the coming years.
7/seven
St Fergus/an essential hub
TOTAL E&P UK’s St Fergus Gas Terminal covers over 220 acres and is located
close to the small village of St. Fergus, around 60 km North of Aberdeen, on the
North East coast of Scotland. There are three other terminals in the vicinity, operated
by ExxonMobil, Shell and National Grid. The National Grid Terminal receives gas
from the other terminals and distributes it to the UK’s National Grid System
The TOTAL E&P UK Terminal was originally constructed to receive and process
gas from the Frigg field, which straddled
the UK / Norway median line. Although this
very large gas field ceased production in
2004, the St Fergus Terminal now receives
gas from more than 20 other fields in both
the UK and Norway and supplies up to
18% of the UK’s gas.
The gas is received at the Terminal through
the Frigg UK pipeline (known as FUKA)
and the Norwegian Vesterled pipeline and
is processed to National Grid’s entry specification before being
transported to the National Grid Terminal for onward distribution. In
the past, gas was also received via the Miller Transportation System
but the Miller Field ceased production in 2007 and the receiving
facilities will be decommissioned over time.
When developing the Terminal the challenge was to create a plant to
facilitate the exploitation of vital North Sea gas resources yet protect
the unspoiled coastal and marine environment.
The first stage was the building of the reception Terminal in 1977
to receive and process gas from the Frigg field. The same year the
adjacent British Gas Terminal, known today as the National Grid
Terminal, was built to receive the processed gas and to feed it into
the National Grid for distribution within the UK.
Since construction, the TOTAL E&P UK’s Terminal facilities have
been developed and expanded to cope with the changing mixture of
gases and processing requirements from additional fields. The most
notable developments made to the plant were in 1987 to receive
gas from the Alwyn North field and in 1993 to receive gas from the
Bruce field.
In 2005 TOTAL E&P UK concluded a deal to transport gas from the
Rhum field through its UK pipeline to the St Fergus Gas Terminal.
Other than TOTAL E&P UK’s own Alwyn Area production this is one
of the largest field in terms of volume through the FUKA pipeline
and Terminal system, which will help to maintain efficient use of the
pipeline over the coming years. Further negotiations in recent years
have successfully resulted in gas from other fields being brought to
shore to the St Fergus Terminal, including Tweedsmuir, Galley, Tartan
and Buzzard. The St Fergus facilities will continue to play a vital role
in bringing a large proportion of the UK’s gas requirements into the
country for decades to come.
9/nine
The very large Frigg Field justified the building of the St Fergus Terminal
in 1977 but the field has now ceased production. However, due to
new discoveries and third party business the pipelines and Terminal
system will continue to be an essential hub in providing an efficient and
economic route for gas into the UK market.
The pipeline system consists of two 32’’ pipelines, 362 km in length.
The UK line principally transports gas from the Alwyn Area fields and
from the Bruce area but with a number of other fields linked into it.
The Norwegian pipeline is known as Vesterled and was extended in
2001 to the Heimdal field riser, in the Norwegian sector of the North
Sea. This line allows continued export of Norwegian gas to the UK
market through the St Fergus Terminal.
UK fields connected to the UK pipeline and then into the St
Fergus Terminal include the TOTAL-operated Alwyn North,
Dunbar, Ellon, Grant, Nuggets, Forvie North and Jura. Non-
operated fields connected into the UK pipeline include, or have
included Bruce, Buzzard, Captain, Rhum, Chanter, Galley,
Hamish, Highlander, Ivanhoe, MacCulloch, Petronella, Piper,
Ross, Rob Roy, Tweedsmuir Area and Tartan.
Following the cessation of production
from Frigg field, a new pipeline was
constructed connecting the 24’’ subsea
line from the Alwyn Area, bypassing
the Frigg TP1 platform and connect-
ing directly into the 32’’ UK pipeline.
This was completed in 2006.
St Fergus/the history
11/eleven
MCP-01/decommissioning
The Manifold Compression Platform MCP-01 is located in the UKCS
mid-way along the pipelines between the Frigg Field and St Fergus Gas
Terminal in Scotland.
MCP-01 is a concrete gravity platform installed in 1976 in 94m of water,
and came into operation in September 1977 when gas from the Frigg field
started to flow.
The original purpose of the platform was to act as a compression and
interconnection platform for the Frigg Transportation System consisting of
the 32” FUKA and 32” Vesterled pipelines which transported gas from the
Frigg Field to the St Fergus Gas Terminal. During summer 2004 and 2005
these pipelines were re-routed to bypass MCP-01 to allow the installation
to be decommissioned.
Over four years, during the decommissioning planning process a very open
and full consultation with non-governmental organisations, fishermen,
environmental organisations and other interested parties was carried out
and their views taken into consideration. Several workshops were held
for external groups; decommissioning plans were published and
made available to the public on a dedicated web site and also through
the press.
The MCP-01 Decommissioning Programme was approved by the UK
Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Norwegian Ministry of
Petroleum and Energy giving approval to leave the concrete substructure
in place. Prior to giving this permit both authorities were obliged to consult
the signatories to the OSPAR Convention with the result that none of the
Contracting Parties submitted any objections.
The removal of the topside facilities was completed in December 2008
where half of the weight was removed by a heavy lift vessel and the
remaining by means of two excavators, cutting modules into suitable
pieces for transport to shore for final disposal. The final heavy lift campaign
took place in summer 2009 to remove the platform cranes and temporary
equipment. An external riser that brought gas into the MCP-01 facility from
other fields is planned to be removed in 2010. During the last four months
of 2010 post removal activities such as debris cleaning within a 500m
zone, seabed sampling and finally a trawl test are all planned.
On the highest point of the concrete substructure permanent navigation
aids are installed and these will be monitored onshore via satellite.
13/thirteen
Processing gas/at St Fergus
Gas arriving at the St Fergus Terminal through both the UK and Vesterled
lines consists mainly of methane with heavier natural gas liquids such as
butane and propane plus some non-hydrocarbons. As the gas enters the
Terminal it is fed through a dedicated slug catcher where any condensates
or liquid hydrocarbons are separated and removed before the remaining
gas enters the main processing system.
Gas is first cooled to between minus10 degrees C and minus 50 degrees
C allowing any remaining liquids to be removed. Finally, the dry gas, made
suitable for our homes and workplaces is metered and then delivered to
the National Grid Terminal.
Liquids collected from processing of the gas is either sent 24 km along the
coast to join the BP Forties Pipeline System at Cruden Bay or into the Shell
Gas terminal also at St Fergus, for onward delivery to Mossmorran.
On the southern edge of the St Fergus Terminal are dedicated
facilities for production from the Miller Field. However, the BP-
operated Miller Field has now ceased production and the
facilities are in the process of being decommissioned.
Over recent years the Terminal facilities have been significantly
upgraded to ensure its long future and efficient handling of
current and future production from the North Sea and beyond,
including the anticipated gas production from the West of
Shetlands in a few years time.
Recent upgrades to the Terminal include the replacement of
the various process software systems, replacement of the two
stand-by power generation units, metering
and uninterruptible power supply systems
as well as improvements to flare and
secur i ty systems. There is a lso
an extensive ongoing maintenance and
asset integrity programme to ensure
operational efficiency of the highest
standards.
14/fourteen
The terminal prides itself on a site-wide holistic
approach to the environment which has secured
widespread recognition for its groundbreaking
eco-friendly initiatives, most recently as the
winner of the prestigious Vision in Business for the
Environment Scotland (VIBES) award in 2007.
Environmental protection has always been high
on the agenda. For example the sand dunes,
which had to be disturbed by the installation of
the subsea pipelines carrying the gas onshore,
were carefully restored to their former state with
the help of local environmentalists. Special grass,
typical of the area, was planted to stabilise them.
For centuries the same birds and mammals have
visited the dunes including gulls, waders, skylarks
and snow buntings. As well as these traditional
visitors, the planting of additional trees around the
terminal have drawn new populations of birds to
the area.
St Fergus/30 years and beyond
In 2007, the St Fergus Gas Terminal celebrated 30 years since
first gas was received. During that time, the 220 acre terminal
has played a vital role in meeting the nation’s energy needs,
handling approximately 20% of the UK’s gas requirements.
In addition to receiving gas from offshore, the terminal is also
responsible for processing the raw supply into a consumable
commodity, ready for distribution via the National Grid system.
The 30th anniversary of first gas provided an excellent opportunity
to promote the work of the terminal to local residents and
members of the community at an Open Day on 15 September
2007. The event provided a rare opportunity to tour the terminal
and to learn first hand about St Fergus operations.
But the influence of corporate social responsibility reaches out
beyond the terminal’s perimeter fence. The unstinting
commitment of employees to seek greener ways of working
at St Fergus means local businesses and the neighbouring
community have been in partnership with TOTAL E&P UK over
the past three decades.
15/fifteen
Over the years the company has continued to play a major part in the
environmental monitoring and assessment of the coastal dunes. In
2008, coastal erosion experts from around the world attended a three
day symposium at St Fergus which was sponsored by all the terminal
operators and members of the St Fergus Coastal Environmental
Committee.
Within and around the village of St Fergus, TOTAL E&P UK maintains
the close relationship with the local community by supporting various
projects and initiatives.
In June 2009, pupils from St Fergus primary school enjoyed a trip to
London Zoo as regional winners of the TOTAL Green School Awards
initiative. Working with TOTAL E&P UK employees, the pupils’ award
winning project focused on saving energy in the school and at home.
In response to road safety concerns by St Fergus community council,
TOTAL E&P UK provided a speed sign at the south side of the village
which has helped reduce motorist’s speed as they travel onwards to
the terminal and the north.
Over the past 32 years TOTAL
E&P UK has welcomed
thousands of visitors to its gas
terminal, among them families
of employees, schoolchildren,
students, government ministers,
foreign delegations and royalty.
As we look ahead to the future,
TOTAL E&P UK will continue to
place the local community at
the heart of what we do and
demonstrate how we are help-
ing contribute to the social,
economic and environmental
health of the local area.
Photography: François Lacour, Ken Taylor
Design by Mearns & Gill, Aberdeen
Copyright © TOTAL E&P UK Limited 2009
All rights reserved, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise without the permission of the copyright holder.
TOTAL E&P UK Limited
Crawpeel Road, Altens, Aberdeen AB12 3FG
Tel: +44 (0) 1224 297000
Fax: +44 (0) 1224 298999
www.total.com