EkofisK Oil and Gas Pipeline Construction
Authors: Shaub D.P. 
Published: December 2007

American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, Inc.

Phillips Petroleum Co. Norway is constructing a 220-mile, 1-million BOPD pipeline from Ekofisk to Teesside, England, pipeline from Ekofisk to Teesside, England, and a 274.5-mile, 2.3-Bcf/D gas pipeline from Ekofisk to Emden, Germany. Peach pipeline will have two intermediate booster pipeline will have two intermediate booster platforms. Both lines are laid and only platforms. Both lines are laid and only tie-in work, testing and booster platforms erection remain to be completed.

Introduction

Phillips Petroleum Co. Norway, operators of the Phillips Norway Group, acting on behalf of Norpipe A/S, is entering the final stages of completion for their oil and gas pipelines in the North Sea. Four hundred ninety-four and a half miles of large-diameter pipe was laid during the 1973 and 1974 lay season. Of this amount, 466 miles was marine pipeline. The 34-in. OD, 220-mile oil pipeline from Ekofisk to Teesside, England, has a capacity of 1 million BOPD and the 36-in., 274.5-mile gas pipeline from Ekofisk to Emden, Germany, has a capacity of 2.28 Bcf/D. Both the oil and gas pipelines are owned by Norpipe A/S, a 50–50 joint venture of the Phillips Group and Statoil, the Norwegian Phillips Group and Statoil, the Norwegian national oil company. The Phillips Group consists of Phillips Petroleum Co. Norway, 36.960 percent, American Petrofina Exploration Co. Norway, 30-000 percent, Norsk Agip A/S, 13.040 percent, Norsk Hydro A/S, 6.700 percent, Elf Norge A/S, 5.396 percent, Total Marine Norsk A/S, 4.047 percent, Aquitaine Norge A/S, 2.698 percent, Eurafrep Norge A/S, 0.456 percent, percent, Eurafrep Norge A/S, 0.456 percent, Coparex Norge, 0.399 percent, and Cofranord A/S, 0.304 percent.

The Phillips Norway Group's Ekofisk field, discovered in 1969, was the first of the giant North Sea discoveries. Later discoveries of six adjoining fields by the group confirmed the fact that the huge reserves of oil and gas could only be transported by pipeline. Late in 1970, three possible routes were surveyed, to Norway, Germany and England. The deep trench offshore Norway shown in the survey complicated transporting the oil to Norway as called for in the license agreement. The trench was 1,100 ft deep and the state of the art for marine pipe lay barges had not progressed to the point where it was feasible to lay and trench large-diameter pipelines in this depth. pipelines in this depth. The Ekofisk to Teesside crude oil pipeline consists of approximately 216 miles of 34-in. OD by 0.719-in. wall thickness API 5LX Grade X-60 pipe in the marine portion of the line, and approximately 4 miles of 34-in. OD by 0.812-in. wall thickness API 5LX Grade X-60 pipe from the land point to the Teesside processing plant. Initial pumping equipment consists of three General Electric Frame 3 gas-fired combustion turbines driving Bingham centrifugal pumps installed on "P" platform at Ekofisk that will deliver a maximum of 542,400 BOPD to Teesside. Two intermediate booster platforms (37/4A and 36/22A) will be installed. In the first phase of operation these platforms will have shutoff valves, scraper launching and receiving