ConocoPhillips to close down North Sea gas pipeline?

ConocoPhillips is reportedly planning to shut down Lincolnshire gas pipeline in the North Sea, and the Theddlethorpe gas terminal. 

According to The Times, the company is in talks with the UK regulator about the future of the pipeline and the terminal, a move that could knock out 10 percent of the UK’s gas capacity and a string of active fields.

Lincolnshire Offshore Gas Gathering System (LOGGS) is operated by ConocoPhillips with 50% interest, and its project partner is BP.

The LOGGS complex started operating in 1988. This facility in the Southern North Sea receives natural gas from the V-fields, Vampire, Viscount, Valkyrie, the Saturn Field, the Jupiter Area natural gas fields, as well as third-party fields.

Natural gas from Viking, Victor, Vixen and Victoria is transported through the LOGGS facilities where it is co-mingled and forwarded on to the Theddlethorpe Gas Terminal in Lincolnshire, England through a 36-inch pipeline.

International Business Times, an online news publication, reported there are at least 10 oil fields that are dependent on this pipeline, these include the Audrey and Anglia fields owned by Centrica and Ithaca Energy apart from a few controlled by BP and Perenco. The news website quoted a source associated with the oil industry saying that if ConocoPhillips goes ahead with its plan, these fields could be closed permanently.

Offshore Energy Today has contacted the system operator seeking confirmation of these reports and further details about its plans.

ConocoPhillips’ spokesperson said: “The onshore Theddlethorpe Gas Terminal receives gas production from numerous fields, some of which are owned or operated by other companies. ConocoPhillips is working closely with the OGA and is engaging with gas shippers and other stakeholders around the long-term plan for the terminal, but there are no immediate plans to decommission it.”

The spokesperson continued: “A number of the ConocoPhillips-operated gas fields which feed into the Theddlethorpe Gas Terminal have ceased production, and ConocoPhillips has developed a phased decommissioning programme to responsibly decommission the offshore infrastructure in those fields over the coming years.”

Elsewhere in the North Sea, reports of Shell’s plans to sell some of its North Sea assets following completion of its takeover of a rival oil and gas producer, BG Group, recently emerged naming former Centrica CEO as a potential buyer.

The article has been updated to include a statement by ConocoPhillips

Offshore Energy Today Staff