GASSCO - osti.gov

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GASSCO ENGLISH

Transcript of GASSCO - osti.gov

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GASSCOENGLISH

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�Gas pipeline at Kårstø.

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Accepting responsibility, delivering as agreed page 4

Motorways for Norwegian gas page 6

Gas administrator page 11

Kårstø’s key role page 13

Kollsnes page 15

Value chain for gas page 16

Receiving terminals in Europe page 18

Riser platforms – key hubs page 25

Skanled – eastward bound page 26

Facts about gas page 28

The Gassled joint venture page 30

Facts about Gassco page 30

Contents

Produced: June 2007 Design: Steinar Iversen Reklamebyrå Photos: Øyvind Sætre, Henderyckx, Hans-Peter Heikens, Eirik Dankel

Text: Ragnar Åsland English translation: Rolf E Gooderham Printer: HBO

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Accepting responsibility, delivering as agreedWe at Gassco take responsibility for transporting gas safely and efficiently from the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). Our aim is to be a leading gas transporter in Europe. We will ensure reliable deliveries 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year, with the aid of our control room in Karmøy local authority north of Stavanger.

European demand for Norwegian gas is steadily rising. Norway ranks as the world’s third largest exporter of pipeline gas, and currently supplies more than 15 per cent of all natural gas consumed in OECD Europe. This proportion is likely to increase over the next few years.

Norway’s ability to deliver gas is significant for the daily lives of millions of people. Its reputation as a reliable supplier would be threatened if these deliveries failed to arrive. Even minor shutdowns on the NCS affect a Europe increasingly dependent on gas imports. So high regularity is essential for maintaining the position of Norwegian gas in a growth market. Ensuring that the companies which export this commodity and their European customers view the transport system as reliable is commercially critical for us at Gassco. That puts reliability at the core of our business.

Transport network. Capacity in the integrated transport system, which comprises pipelines, processing facilities, platforms and receiving terminals in continental Europe and the UK, has increased in recent years. It will be up to 350 million standard cubic metres (scm) of gas per day by 31 December 2007. The latest delivery record was set on 11 December 2006, when more than 300 million scm of gas was produced and delivered from the NCS in the course of a single day.

Our offices at Bygnes.

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Health, safety and the environment. Our goal at Gassco is zero harm to people, the environment or material assets. This zero objective reflects a conviction that all harm can be prevented by systematic and purposeful work. We have established performance indicators which show the development in our HSE results over time. The trend in recent years has been positive for the activities we operate, with fewer critical incidents or personal injuries.

Able people at every stage. Despite constant technological advances, our personnel and the expertise they possess are the primary reason we can claim to be reliable. We are accordingly committed to having able people at every stage. It is gratifying that we can recruit new employees who help to take our company for-ward. We have a stable and well-qualified staff, and regard ourselves as a change-oriented organ- isation in which everyone contributes to main-taining and developing the transport system. In this way, we can safeguard Norway’s leading role as a gas supplier.

Operatives in Dornum.

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NORWAY

SWEDEN

DENMARK

GERMANY

BELGIUMFRANCE

THE NETHERLANDS

GREAT BRITAIN

ZONES ANd TArIffSThe integrated system for Norwegian gas transport is divided into areas, each with fixed unit prices for transport and/or processing.

Gassled area A: covers the pipeline carrying rich gas from the Tampen area of the North Sea to the Kårstø processing plant.Gassled area B: covers the pipeline carrying rich gas from the Halten Bank in the Norwegian Sea to Kårstø.Gassled area C: covers the Kårstø plant.Gassled area d: covers a number of pipelines, platforms and receiving terminals for transporting dry gas from Kollsnes and Kårstø, or directly from fields, to receiving terminals in the UK, France, Belgium and Germany.Gassled area E: covers the Kollsnes processing plant.

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Motorways for Norwegian gasWe operate a unique system for gas transport through an extensive network of pipelines which total 7 800 kilo- metres in length, as well as major industrial facilities, platforms and receiving terminals in continental Europe and the UK.

PIPELINE frOM TO LENGTH dIAMETEr CAPACITY (scm/d)

Haltenpipe Heidrun Tjeldbergodden 250 km 16-inch 7.0 mill Norne Gas Transport (NGTS) Norne Heidrun 126 km 16-inch 10.0 mill Åsgard Transport Åsgard Kårstø 707 km 42-inch 70.4 mill Statpipe rich gas Statfjord Kårstø 308 km 30-inch 26.7 mill Statpipe Kårstø Draupner S 228 km 28-inch 21.1 mill Statpipe Draupner S Ekofisk 203 km 36-inch 44.4 mill Statpipe Heimdal Draupner S 155 km 36-inch 30.7 mill Zeepipe Sleipner Zeebrugge 814 km 40-inch 41.9 mill Zeepipe Sleipner Draupner S 30 km 30-inch 50.0 mill Zeepipe IIA Kollsnes Sleipner 303 km 40-inch 72.0 mill Zeepipe IIB Kollsnes Draupner E 304 km 40-inch 71.0 mill Europipe Draupner E Dornum/Emden 660 km 40-inch 45.4 mill Europipe II Kårstø Dornum 650 km 42-inch 64.8 mill Franpipe Draupner E Dunkerque 840 km 42-inch 53.7 mill Norpipe Ekofisk Emden 440 km 36-inch 44.4 mill Vesterled Heimdal St Fergus 350 km 32-inch 36.0 mill Oseberg Gas Transport (OGT) Oseberg Heimdal 109 km 36-inch 41.9 mill Langeled (from 1 Oct 2006) Nyhamna Easington 1 200 km 42/44-inch 69.4 mill Tampen Link (from 1 Oct 2007) Statfjord Flags 23 km 32-inch 25.0 mill

LANd-BASEd fACILITIES

rISEr PLATfOrMS

Installations also delivering natural gas to the transport network

Kårstø gas processing complex, Norway Draupner S/E At Åsgard: MikkelKollsnes gas processing complex, Norway Sleipner Riser At Norne: UrdEmden receiving terminal, Germany Heimdal Riser At Statfjord: Statfjord East, Statfjord North, Snorre and VigdisDornum receiving terminal, Germany At Gullfaks: Tordis and TopasDunkerque receiving terminal, France At Heimdal: Vale and SkirneSt Fergus receiving terminal, UK At Jotun: Balder and RinghorneZeebrugge receiving terminal, Belgium At Sleipner: Sleipner East and West

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THE WOrK dONE ArOUNd THE CLOCK IN OUr CONTrOL rOOM AT BYGNES NOrTH Of STAvANGEr IS HIGHLY SIGNIfI-CANT fOr OUr rOLE AS OPErATOr. ONE KEY jOB IS TO ENSUrE THAT CUSTOMErS rECEIvE THE COrrECT vOLUMES. OTHEr IMPOrTANT TASKS INCLUdE ENSUrING THAT THE PrOdUCTS WE SENd ON HAvE THE PrOPEr CALOrIfIC vALUE ANd THE rIGHT CONTENT Of WATEr, CArBON dIOxIdE ANd HYdrOGEN SULPHIdE.

In addition, our control room operatives coordinate the whole daily flow of information on deliveries to the gas owners and the fields responsible for delivery.

The control room is responsible for optimum operation of the transport system and for achieving 100 per cent regularity. We call this “system operation”.

Motorways for Norwegian gas cont

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�Operatives in the control room at Bygnes.

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ONE Of OUr rOLES CAN BE COMPArEd IN A WAY WITH CONTrOLLING TrAffIC IN INTErNATIONAL AIr SPACE. TrAffIC BETWEEN THE PIPELINES IS ALSO CONSIdErABLE, ANd ONE Of OUr KEY jOBS IS TO AdMINISTEr THE CAPACITY AvAILABLE IN THE TrANSPOrT SYSTEM AT ANY GIvEN TIME. A CErTAIN NUMBEr Of BOOKING rOUNdS ArE HELd EvErY YEAr TO ALLOCATE CAPACITY. OUr jOB IS TO ACCOMPLISH THIS IN AN OBjECTIvE, NON-dISCrIMINATOrY ANd TrANSPArENT WAY WHICH BENEfITS ALL GAS SHIPPErS, ANd WHICH CONTrIBUTES TO THE MOST EffICIENT POSSIBLE UTILISATION Of rESOUrCES ON THE NCS.

The receiving terminal in Dornum.

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System operation and capacity management. The 23 staff in our control room average 10 years of experience. Controlling the gas flow continues without a break around the clock. Three people work the night shift, while the day and afternoon shifts each have four operatives. Their main duties are to manage the gas flow through constant monitoring, regulate quality and ensure that the gas blend is correct. Since the various fields deliver different gas grades, these must be processed or mixed to achieve the desired quality before delivery to the buyer. Such blending allows us to deliver gas with the agreed composition virtually all the time.

Gas administration

The Bygnes control room.

Our control room’s coordinatory role is exten-sive and multifaceted. In certain circumstances, we can instruct a field operator to deliver gas for a limited period. This happens, for instance, if a field shuts down for maintenance or other reasons. We can then require another field to deliver more and others to supply less. The control room is also involved in planning short-term shutdowns which supplement major scheduled turnarounds. Transport capacity de- pends to some extent on the ambient water temperature along the pipelines, which means that more can be sold in the cold season. Using good temperature information, updated daily, and advanced computer models, we calculate the daily extra capacity available for sale in the winter. Planning ship calls at Kårstø also requires careful coordination with daily gas flows.

Construction and development. A key challenge for us as operator is to run all our facilities safely and cost-efficiently. We are also required to make improvements, remove operational bottlenecks and increase accessibility in the gas transport system. Ensuring that all Norwegian gas reaches the market in an acceptable, safe and efficient

manner is an important and responsible job. The value chain comprises five stages: production, transport to land, processing, onward transport, and sales/marketing.

Production. Gas is produced from more than 30 fixed and floating installations on the NCS.

Transport to land. Gas is piped from the NCS to processing facilities on land. At this stage, it is usually a blend of dry gas (methane) and natural gas liquids (NGL – ethane, propane and butanes) known as rich gas.

Processing. When rich gas reaches the processing plant, its pressure is reduced before the lightest (dry) gas and the NGL are separated in an extrac-tion plant. The various NGL fractions are also sep-arated into ethane, propane and butanes. This is accomplished by heating the mix at the base of a tall column, so that the lightest fraction vaporises and collects at the top. The residue is then sent to the next column and reheated. This fractionation process continues until all the NGLs have been separated out.

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AT KårSTø, NGL IS SEPArATEd frOM rICH GAS ANd THEN SPLIT (frACTIONATEd) INTO PrOPANE, NOrMAL BUTANE, ISOBUTANE, NAPHTHA ANd ETHANE. THE PrOPANE IS STOrEd IN TWO LArGE ArTIfICIAL rOCK CAvErNS, WHICH HAvE A COMBINEd CAPACITY Of 140 000 TONNES. NOrMAL BUTANE, ISOBUTANE, NAPHTHA ANd ETHANE ArE HELd IN TANKS.

KårSTø rANKS AS THE WOrLd’S THIrd LArGEST ExPOrT POrT fOr PrOPANE, NOrMAL BUTANE ANd ISOBUTANE, WHICH ArE KNOWN COLLECTIvELY AS LIqUEfIEd PETrOLEUM GASES (LPG). THESE PrOdUCTS ArE SOLd TO CUSTOMErS WOrLdWIdE.

The Kårstø processing plant.

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Kårstø north of Stavanger has been transformed over the past 25 years from poor pasture to one of the world’s largest processing plants for natural gas. Its capacity has been increased fivefold since operation began in 1985 through expansions, modifications and the installation of new equipment. And almost NOK 30 billion has been invested at the site since the Storting (parliament) approved the Statpipe development in 1981.

Kårstø’s key role

With more than 30 fields tied back to Kårstø via pipelines, millions of cubic metres of gas and unstabilised condensate flow into the plant every day.

Its original purpose was to receive and treat gas from fields in the northern North Sea, and this remains one of its main jobs. First gas arrived on 25 July 1985, with dry gas starting its journey to Emden in Germany on 15 October of the same year. The Statpipe system carries gas from the northern North Sea to Kårstø.

value creation. Kårstø is an important link in the value chain from reservoir to European customers. Fields in the Norwegian Sea were also connected to the European gas market with the development of Åsgard, construction of the Åsgard Transport and Europipe II pipelines, and expansion of the Kårstø plant.

Completed on 1 October 2005, the Kårstø expan-sion project 2005 (KEP2005) made it possible to receive rich gas from the Kristin field via Åsgard

Transport. Capacity at the plant was increased by 20 per cent to 88 million scm per day. A plant to remove carbon dioxide from the sales gas was also built as part of KEP2005.

A total of 638 cargoes of propane, butane, ethane, naphtha and stabilised condensate were shipped from Kårstø in 2006.

Condensate is piped to Kårstø from the Sleipner area of the North Sea. At the plant, it is stabilised and fractionated in a dedicated facility which became operational on 1 October 1993. Roughly four million tonnes of stabilised condensate are shipped from the plant every year.

An expansion in 2005 increased Kårstø’s ethane production capacity by more than 50 per cent to 950 000 tonnes per annum.

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1� The Kollsnes processing plant.

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Troll contains the largest gas reserves discovered in the North Sea. Its development has been based on piping the gas to Kollsnes for processing, which began in 1996. Kvitebjørn and Visund have subse-quently been tied to the plant.

The Kollsnes process separates gas, NGL and condensate. After dewatering, the gas is compressed for onward transmission to Europe via Zeepipe, Europipe and other pipeline systems.

A pipeline transports NGL from Kollsnes to the Mongstad oil refinery further north for fractionation into propane, butane and naphtha.

Since the Kollsnes plant came on stream, its capacity has been expanded several times. Additions include an NGL extraction unit and a new export compressor. The facility can currently process up to 143 million scm of gas and 69 000 barrels of condensate per day.

The processing plant at Kollsnes north-west of Bergen plays a key role in Norway’s gas industry, and handles output from the Troll, Kvitebjørn and visund fields in the North Sea.

Kollsnes

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Oil and gas are formedfrom the remains of plants, algae, plankton and marine animals deposited on the seabed many millions of years ago, and converted to hydrocarbons under heat and pressure.

Oil transportOil can be brought ashore by shuttle tankers which load from a buoy on the field, or by pipeline.

Gas transportGas is transported by ship in liquefied form, or by pipelines along the seabed.

Oil refiningCrude oil comprises a blend of liquids or fractions with different boiling points. In the refinery, these fractions are separated in a distillation column and then processed into such products as heating oil, diesel oil or petrol.

Receiving terminalsare located at Emden and Dornum in Germany, Zeebrugge in Belgium, Dunkerque in France, St Fergus in Scotland and Easington in England. Transmission/distribution

Norwegian gas is transported from the receiving terminals to end users in households, industry and power stations through a well-developed distribution network.

End usersNatural gas is used in continental Europe and the UK by households, office buildings, market gardens and other commercial activities, power stations and manufacturing.

End usersGas is used as a fuel and as a feedstock for the petrochemical industry. This yields a number of commodities, particularly plastics. Toothbrushes, shopping bags, bottles, mobile phones and computers are among the products where natural gas is one of the most important raw materials.

Dry gasis often called sales gas. It consists primarily of methane, but also contains some ethane.

Transport networkNorwegian gas is transported through a network of pipelines totalling 7 800 kilometres in length from fields on the NCS to receiving terminals in continental Europe and the UK.

Gas processingRich gas is separated into various fractions by being passed through a series of tall columns. When the gas is heated at the bottom of a column, the lightest fraction rises to the top and is drawn off. This process continues until fractionation is complete. See the illustration on page 29 for further details.

NGL and condensateOnce separated and fractionated, propane, butanes, naphtha and condensate are transported by ship.

A reservoiris a porous, permeable rock which contains petroleum, rather like water in a wet sponge. Three types of rock are needed to create a commercial reservoir – a source of hydrocarbons, the actual reservoir and an impermeable cap which creates a trap to retain the oil and gas.

Surveys and exploration wellsExploring for hydrocarbons calls for modern computers, geological maps and geophysical investigations. Seismic surveys use sound waves generated by an explosion, which travel through the rock and bounce back to microphones. These signals are then interpreted to map the “terrain”. Exploration wells are drilled from rigs or ships.

Production and separationOil and gas can be produced from platforms or advanced seabed installations. This wellstream, which may be under high pressure and temperature, is separated into its various components before transport and further processing.

OIL

RICH GAS

DRY GAS

NGL

Value chain for gas

1�

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Oil and gas are formedfrom the remains of plants, algae, plankton and marine animals deposited on the seabed many millions of years ago, and converted to hydrocarbons under heat and pressure.

Oil transportOil can be brought ashore by shuttle tankers which load from a buoy on the field, or by pipeline.

Gas transportGas is transported by ship in liquefied form, or by pipelines along the seabed.

Oil refiningCrude oil comprises a blend of liquids or fractions with different boiling points. In the refinery, these fractions are separated in a distillation column and then processed into such products as heating oil, diesel oil or petrol.

Receiving terminalsare located at Emden and Dornum in Germany, Zeebrugge in Belgium, Dunkerque in France, St Fergus in Scotland and Easington in England. Transmission/distribution

Norwegian gas is transported from the receiving terminals to end users in households, industry and power stations through a well-developed distribution network.

End usersNatural gas is used in continental Europe and the UK by households, office buildings, market gardens and other commercial activities, power stations and manufacturing.

End usersGas is used as a fuel and as a feedstock for the petrochemical industry. This yields a number of commodities, particularly plastics. Toothbrushes, shopping bags, bottles, mobile phones and computers are among the products where natural gas is one of the most important raw materials.

Dry gasis often called sales gas. It consists primarily of methane, but also contains some ethane.

Transport networkNorwegian gas is transported through a network of pipelines totalling 7 800 kilometres in length from fields on the NCS to receiving terminals in continental Europe and the UK.

Gas processingRich gas is separated into various fractions by being passed through a series of tall columns. When the gas is heated at the bottom of a column, the lightest fraction rises to the top and is drawn off. This process continues until fractionation is complete. See the illustration on page 29 for further details.

NGL and condensateOnce separated and fractionated, propane, butanes, naphtha and condensate are transported by ship.

A reservoiris a porous, permeable rock which contains petroleum, rather like water in a wet sponge. Three types of rock are needed to create a commercial reservoir – a source of hydrocarbons, the actual reservoir and an impermeable cap which creates a trap to retain the oil and gas.

Surveys and exploration wellsExploring for hydrocarbons calls for modern computers, geological maps and geophysical investigations. Seismic surveys use sound waves generated by an explosion, which travel through the rock and bounce back to microphones. These signals are then interpreted to map the “terrain”. Exploration wells are drilled from rigs or ships.

Production and separationOil and gas can be produced from platforms or advanced seabed installations. This wellstream, which may be under high pressure and temperature, is separated into its various components before transport and further processing.

OIL

RICH GAS

DRY GAS

NGL

1�

STORBRITANNIA

FRANKRIKE BELGIA

DANMARK

NEDERLAND TYSKLAND

NORGE SVERIGE

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WHEN NOrWEGIAN GAS IS PIPEd TO CUSTOMErS IN CONTINENTAL EUrOPE ANd THE UK, IT MUST fIrST PASS THrOUGH A rECEIvING TErMINAL. WE OPErATE SUCH fACILITIES IN GErMANY, BELGIUM, frANCE ANd BrITAIN.

Receiving terminals in Europe

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1� The dornum receiving terminal.

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dunkerque terminalThe receiving terminal for the Franpipe line stands in Dunkerque’s Port Ouest in northern France. Established jointly by Gassled and Gaz de France, this facility was completed in the summer of 1998 and is owned by Franpipe. Deliveries of sales gas from the NCS via Franpipe to Dunkerque commenced on 1 July 1998. The terminal is remotely operated from the Zeebrugge facility.

Last stop before the market

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Gas from the NCS is piped to receiving terminals in four European countries. Upon arrival, it undergoes a final quality check, metering, and regulation of pressure and temperature before being delivered to the downstream transport operators.

receiving terminals in Europe cont

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Zeebrugge terminalThe receiving terminal at Zeebrugge in Belgium is owned by the Zeepipe group, part of the Gassled joint venture, and Belgian company Fluxys. It is operated as an integral part of the Zeepipe system.

Zeebrugge was chosen as the Zeepipe landfall because of its proximity to gas buyers in Belgium, France and Spain.

The facility stands in the city’s port area and is linked to the landfall point by a six-kilometre over-land line.

Upon arrival at the terminal, the gas has its pressure regulated. Possible residual liquids and solid particles are removed, and the gas is metered and checked for quality before being transported on through the pipeline network to customers in Europe.

The Zeebrugge terminal became operational in 1993.

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Emden hubThe Emden metering station for Europipe and the Norsea gas terminal for Norpipe stand side by side outside this north German port. Emden has been a hub for Norwegian gas deliveries since Norpipe became operational in 1997. These facilities regulate gas pressure and temperature before it passes through a hydrogen sulphide treatment plant. The gas is also metered and checked for quality.

receiving terminals in Europe cont

Easington terminalLangeled runs for 1 166 kilometres, making it the world’s longest underwater pipeline. We are also operator for this system, which starts at Nyhamna in mid-Norway and terminates at Easington on the UK east coast.

Gas from Ormen Lange in the Norwegian Sea flows through the northern leg of Langeled to the Sleipner platforms in the North Sea, where it is blended to ensure the right quality and sent on.

Upon arrival in Easington, the gas is regulated to the correct pressure and temperature before being passed into the British distribution system.

The southern leg of Langeled became operational on 1 October 2006, with the northern leg follow-ing on 1 October 2007 when the Ormen Lange processing plan came on stream.

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dornum terminalGas comes ashore from the Europipe and Euro-pipe II pipelines at the Dornum receiving terminal in northern Germany.

This facility filters, pressure regulates, heats and meters the gas before it enters the Netra transport system or a 48-kilometre land line to Emden for further metering and distribution.

St fergus terminalThis facility stands 61 kilometres north of Aberdeen in Scotland, and became operation-al in 1977. The terminal receives dry gas in the Vesterled system in addition to rich gas arriving through Britain’s own Flags transport system. Gassled owns Vesterled, while we are its operator.

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�� Draupner.

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The Draupner S and E installations represent a key hub in the gas transport network on the NCS. Their main function is to monitor pressure, volume and quality.

With seven risers (vertical pipelines) ranging from 28 to 42 inches in diameter and associated manifolds, these platforms play a key role in gas transport to continental Europe.

The B-11 platform stands in the German sector of the North Sea, south-east of Norway’s Ekofisk

centre, and serves as a compressor facility on the Norpipe gas line to Emden.

Heimdal Riser is tied to the Heimdal platform and operated as an integral part of the latter. This installation is a hub which distributes gas from the Oseberg Gas Transport system to the Statpipe, Vesterled and Grane lines, together with gas from Huldra, Heimdal, Vale and Skirne.

Riser platforms – key hubs

We also operate riser and compressor platforms related to the pipelines.

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Skanled – eastward boundWe were commissioned by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy in April 2005 to investigate interest in a gas transport system for Norway. This has proved to be high, and we presented the basic technical calculations for a solution in October 2006.

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The transport system currently under consideration has been named Skanled. It will involve a pipeline running from the Kårstø processing plant to Rafnes in the Grenland region south of Oslo, and on to western Sweden and Denmark.

Plans call for a mix of ethane and normal sales gas to be piped from Kårstø to Rafnes. A separation plant will then remove the ethane and other heavier hydrocarbons for use in the local petrochemical industry, replacing today’s transport of such feedstock by ship from Kårstø.

Part of the sales gas will also be used in the Grenland area, while a compressor station ensures onward export of the remaining gas across the Skagerrak.

Both national and international companies have expressed interest in the project, and commercial support is now great enough to meet the full ownership requirement. A decision on implementing Skanled is due to be taken in 2009, with possible completion in late 2012.

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Facts about gas

Many terms and expressions are used for oil and gas. Petroleum is a collective designation for hydrocarbons, whether solid, liquid or gaseous.

GscmGiga standard cubic metres – one billion cubic metres of gas at 0.01325 bar and 15°C.

CNGCompressed natural gas.

LNG Liquefied natural gas, primarily methane, whichhas been converted to liquid by cooling to -163°C at atmospheric pressure. One tonne of LNGcorresponds to roughly 1 400 scm of gas.

LPG Liquefied petroleum gases. Consist primarily of propane and butanes. They are obtained at Kårstø through fractionation and cooling.

Natural gasPetroleum components (fractions) which primarily comprise light hydrocarbons. These can be divided into dry gas and NGL (see below). Also known as sales gas, dry gas consists largely of methane but can often contain a certain proportion of ethane and small quantities of heavier hydrocarbons.

CondensateEmbraces the heavier fractions in natural gas, such as pentane, hexane and heptane. Condensate is liquid under atmospheric pressure and temperature.

Naphtha (natural gasoline)A volatile condensate which contains less of the heaviest fractions.

NGLNatural gas liquids. Comprise the heavier gases ethane, propane and butane as well as small amounts of pentane, hexane and heptane.

ncmNormal cubic metre at a reference condition of 0°C and 1.01325 bar.

oe Oil equivalent. Oil and gas are often quantified as oil equivalent. As a rule of thumb, one tonne oe = one tonne of oil = 1 100 scm of sales gas.

smcStandard cubic metre at a reference condition of 15°C and 1.01325 bar.

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COMPOSITION Of vArIOUS GAS TYPES rich gas

dry gas(Sales gas) LNG NGL LPG Condensate

Grosscalorific

value (GCV) MJ/scm

Methane 37.7Ethane 66.0Propane 94.0Butanes 121.0Naphta 150 +Condensate > 150

GCV MJ/scm 43-46 39-40 38-40 90-100 abt 100 > 150

dId YOU KNOW THAT...When you clean your teeth in the morning, the brush you use is likely to be processed natural gas. And if you eat a gourmet meal in a Parisian or London restaurant, the chances are good that the food has been cooked on Norwegian gas.

A number of well-known products which surround us, such as plastic bags and bottles, mobile phones and computers, derive from natural gas – one of the most iportant feedstocks for plastics production.

Met

hane

Etha

ne

Prop

ane

Buta

nes

Nap

tha

Cond

ensa

te

Dry (sales) gasby pipeline to Europe

NGLis transported by ship

Rich gas/condensate

Extraction plant Fractionation plant

= heat

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With effect from 1 january 2003, virtually all the Norwegian transport systems were integrated in Gassled, a large new joint venture between the oil and gas companies involved on the NCS.

The Gassled joint venture

Gas transport on the NCS was originally organised in various joint ventures, which owned the different pipelines and terminals.

Gassled has no employees and is run through various committees with specific duties. This joint venture is the formal owner of the infrastructure for gas transport from the NCS.

Facts about GasscoWe were founded by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy on 14 May 2001 as a limited company wholly owned by the Norwegian state. We became the operator for gas transport from the NCS on 1 january 2002.

Before our creation, such transport was operated by several companies. We were established as part of an extensive restructuring of the Norwegian oil and gas sector since 2001. Our head office is located at Bygnes in Karmøy local authority north of Stavanger, and lies roughly 15 kilometres from the port of Haugesund.

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GASSCO AS P O Box 93, NO- 5501 Haugesund, Norway. Visiting address: Bygnesvegen 75, NO- 4250 Kopervik. Tel: +47 52 81 25 00. www.gassco.no