The Ninian Pipeline is a long crude oil pipeline, which runs from the
Ninian Central platform in the northern
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...
to the
Sullom Voe Terminal
The Sullom Voe Terminal is an oil and gas terminal at Sullom Voe in the Shetland Islands of Scotland. It handles production from oilfields in the North Sea and East Shetland Basin and stores oil before it is transported by tanker.
Constructio ...
in
Shetland Islands of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
.
Specification
The Ninian pipeline was laid in July 1976. It is a X65 steel pipeline with an outside diameter of with a wall thickness of 0.75 and 0.875 inches.
The pipeline has a corrosion coating and a 65 mm concrete buoyancy coating. There are 200 kg Sacrificial zinc (Impalloy) anodes at ever 12th joint, with a total mass of 150 tonnes. Buckle arrestors comprising steel sleeves 1-inch thick and 2 m long are located every 36th joint.
The pipeline has a maximum design capacity of 910,000 bbl/day and a maximum operating pressure of 1800 psia (124 barg).
Oil production
Ninian Central acted as an oil reception and export hub for a number of installations in the northern North Sea. Ninian Central receives, or received, oil from the following installations:
* Ninian Northern (24" oil pipeline)
* Ninian Southern (24" oil pipeline)
* Strathspey (8" and 10" oil pipelines)
* Heather (16" oil pipeline)
*
Magnus
Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...
(24" oil pipeline)
* Alwyn (12" oil pipeline)
* Lyell (12" and 8" oil pipeline)
From the Ninian Central oil processing facilities crude oil flows to the crude oil booster pumps, a metering skid and Main Oil Line (MOL) pumps. After the MOL pumps the fluids were co-mingled with oil from the Strathspey, Ninian Northern, Heather and Magnus platforms.
Oil from the field is exported through the 36" pipeline to Sullom Voe (175 km).
The first oil was received at the Sullom Voe Terminal in December 1978.
Owner and operator
The pipeline was initially operated by
BP on behalf of the partner companies.
As of June 2021 the pipeline was operated by EnQuest on behalf of the owners:
* EnQuest Heather Limited (Operator) 18.0511%
* CNR International (UK) Ltd 63.3271%
* Chevron North Sea Ltd 2.2601%
* Total E&P UK Limited 16.3616%
See also
Ninian Central Platform
The Ninian Central Platform is an oil platform in the North Sea. When constructed in Loch Kishorn, Scotland in 1978 the 600,000 tonne platform was the world's largest man-made movable object before being towed to its current position and sunk ...
External links
Ninian Pipeline System (BP website)
References
{{Reflist
Energy infrastructure completed in 1978
North Sea energy
Oil and gas industry in Shetland
Oil pipelines in the United Kingdom
BP buildings and structures
Pipelines under the North Sea
1978 establishments in Scotland