The United Kingdom petroleum pipeline network is principally made up of three pipelines systems: the former Government Pipeline and Storage System (GPSS) now the

CLH Pipeline System The CLH Pipeline System, formerly the Government Pipelines and Storage System (GPSS), is a United Kingdom pipeline system run by CLH. The network at one time consisted of over of pipeline and 46 other facilities. However, several of these ...

; the

Esso Esso () is a trading name for ExxonMobil. Originally, the name was primarily used by its predecessor Standard Oil of New Jersey after the breakup of the original Standard Oil company in 1911. The company adopted the name "Esso" (the phonetic p ...

pipelines (principally the mainline and midlines), and the United Kingdom Oil Pipelines (UKOP) and associated pipelines. There are also several other lines including the Fina line built around 1990 that runs from

North Lincolnshire North Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area in Lincolnshire, England, with a population of 167,446 in the 2011 census. The borough includes the towns of Scunthorpe, Brigg, Haxey, Crowle, Epworth, Bottesford, Kirton in Lindsey and Barton ...

to the

Buncefield oil depot Buncefield oil depot is operated by Hertfordshire Oil Storage Ltd (HOSL) and officially known as the Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal. It is an oil depot located on the edge of Hemel Hempstead to the north of London in the United Kingdom (UK) ...

near Hemel Hempstead.Tim Whittle: Fuelling the Wars – PLUTO and the Secret Pipeline Network 1936 to 2015 published 2017.

GPSS

The GPSS was originally constructed between 1941 and 1944 and then extended after the war, most notably during the 1950s, 1970s and 1980s. The first commercial pipeline to be constructed in the United Kingdom was built in 1959 by Shell-Mex and BP from the GPSS depot at Walton on Thames to Heathrow Airport. This pipeline now forms part of UKOP (West London). In 1963 Esso built their own pipeline from their Fawley refinery to London Heathrow. The Esso Main and Midlines constructed in the 1970s and 1980s respectively. The Esso pipeline from Fawley to London is due to be replaced, with the preferred routes G and J – North and South of Alton Pumping station being announced in June 2018. For a further description see

UKOP

The United Kingdom Oil Pipeline (UKOP) is an oil products pipeline opened in 1969 and connecting the two (then)

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

refineries A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value. Types of refineries Different types of refineries ar ...

of Stanlow (

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

) and

Shell Haven Shell Haven was a port on the north bank of the Thames Estuary at the eastern end of Thurrock, Essex, England and then an oil refinery. The refinery closed in 1999 and the site was purchased by DP World who received planning consent in May 200 ...

(

Thames Estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...

). UKOP is owned by a consortium of five shareholders Essar Midlands Ltd, BP, Shell, Valero and Total. UKOP is administered and operated by the

British Pipeline Agency British Pipeline Agency Ltd (BPA) is a joint venture, established in 1969, between BP Oil UK and Shell UK. The company operates the UK oil pipeline network of oil pipelines which transport petroleum products around the UK. Operations BPA repl ...

(BPA), which is jointly owned by

and BP. As part of the UKOP network, in 1982 BPA began work a pipeline from Walton to Gatwick and this was substantively complete by the end of the year. However, in 1983 the pipeline had to be shut down and was not brought back into operation until 1984. In 1985 the UKOP pipeline from Kingsbury to Buncefield was commissioned. UKOP transports 7.5 million tonnes of mixed products each year distributed to major oil terminals at Buncefield and

Kingsbury Kingsbury may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Kingsbury, London, a district of northwest London in the borough of Brent ** Kingsbury tube station, London Underground station * Kingsbury, Warwickshire, a village and civil parish in Warwickshi ...

with spurs to

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

and

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

. UKOP now draws its products from Essar Stanlow in the north, with smaller volumes from tankage at

. UKOP carries two grades of

petrol Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...

, two grades of

kerosene Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...

(including

Jet A-1 Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF, also abbreviated avtur) is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. It is colorless to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for commercial av ...

) and two grades of gas oil-

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

. To ensure safety and integrity, the pipeline is patrolled by helicopter every two weeks.

Petroleum product pipelines

A list of UK petroleum pipelines. Pipelines are multi-product lines with batches of product separated by pigs, except for single product lines where shown, for example aviation kerosene.

Crude oil pipelines

In addition to the petroleum products pipelines there are a number of crude oil pipelines transporting crude oil from offshore installations to coastal terminals and from terminals to refineries. The sources give various and conflicting lengths and capacities.

GPSS

UKOP

Petroleum product pipelines

Crude oil pipelines

See also

References

Further reading