Rampside Gas Terminal is a gas terminal situated in

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

on the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

coast. It connects to gas fields in

Morecambe Bay Morecambe Bay is a large estuary in northwest England, just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of . In 1974, the second larges ...

. It is situated adjacent to the former

Roosecote Power Station Roosecote Power Station was a gas-fired, originally coal-fired power station, situated in the Roosecote district of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria, North West England. The gas-fired station opened in 1991 and was the first CCGT power station to s ...

History

Production started in 1985 with the South Morecambe gas field. The North Morecambe terminal was built in 1992. The Rivers Fields Area was discovered in 1982. The terminal was built on a site used by the former Roosecote coal-fired power station.

Operations

It consists of three gas terminals, situated between

Roose Roose or Roosecote is a suburb and ward of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. The word 'roose' is Celtic for "moor" or "heath" and the suffix 'cote' of Roosecote means "hut" or "huts" (the word 'cottage' is derived from 'cote'). Before the bui ...

to the north and

Rampside Rampside is a village in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is located a few miles south-east of the town of Barrow-in-Furness, in the north-western corner of Morecambe Bay on the Furness peninsula. History There is evidence t ...

to the south. The sea around the gas platforms is around 30 metres (93 ft) deep. Centrica's facilities employ about 400 people, with a maximum of 172 people offshore, with around 140 being Centrica personnel. Offshore personnel are transferred via helicopter from

Blackpool International Airport Blackpool Airport is an airport on the Fylde coast of Lancashire, England, in the Borough of Fylde, just outside the Borough of Blackpool. It was formerly known as Squires Gate Airport and Blackpool International Airport. Ownership of the ai ...

and also directly from the terminal itself with flights currently operated by Bond Offshore Helicopters. Gas is transferred to the terminals via 36 inch pipelines. Gas, after processing and compression, is supplied to the

National Transmission System The United Kingdom's National Transmission System (NTS) is the network of gas pipelines that supply gas to about forty power stations and large industrial users from natural gas terminals situated on the coast, and to gas distribution companies th ...

. Gas was formerly transferred to the

, next-door to the north at Roose, before the gas turbine station was decommissioned in 2014. The topsides for the Morecambe Bay production, accommodation and flare platforms were designed by Matthew Hall EngineeringMatthew Hall Engineering publicity brochure n.d. but c. 1990 which was also responsible for jacket design, construction assistance and installation technical assistance. It was awarded the contract in May 1981. The plant had a processing capacity of 34 million standard cubic metres per day. Electricity generation was powered by four 4 MW Ruston gas turbines. The topsides accommodation was for 176 people.

Rivers Terminal

It is named as it is because its fields are all named after Lancashire rivers. This is operated by Spirit Energy on behalf of Chrysaor (following the acquisition of ConocoPhillips UK assets in 2019). The £60m contract for the construction by

Costain Costain is a surname of English, Scottish and Manx origin. When originating in Scotland and northern Ireland the surname is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic ''Mac Austain'', meaning "son of ''Austin''". The English surname is a reduced form of '' ...

Oil and Gas Ltd (now called COGAP) of Manchester from January 2002. The whole £185m project, including the fields, was originally developed by

Burlington Resources Burlington Resources Inc. was a company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration. In 2006, the company was acquired by ConocoPhillips. History In 1988, the company was formed to own the resource assets of Burlington Northern Railroad. The company beca ...

, who were bought by ConocoPhillips in 2006. The gas coming to the terminal is

sour The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste (flavor). Taste is the perception produced or stimulated when a substance in the mouth reacts chemically with taste receptor ...

and contains high levels of

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

and

hydrogen sulphide Hydrogen sulfide is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless chalcogen-hydride gas, and is poisonous, corrosive, and flammable, with trace amounts in ambient atmosphere having a characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs. The unde ...

. Gas is transferred from here to the North Morecambe Terminal. Waste hydrogen sulphide is burned to produce

sulphur dioxide Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a toxic gas responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is released naturally by volcanic activ ...

and converted to liquid

sulphuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular formu ...

which has industrial use. Gas Terminals, Barrow-in-Furness - geograph

North Morecambe Terminal

Operated by Spirit Energy. Gas arriving here has a higher concentration of carbon dioxide and nitrogen than the South Morecambe plant, and hence has to be treated in different processes, and thus needs a separate plant. There is three phase separation and carbon dioxide is removed via an amine wash. Nitrogen is removed via a cryogenic distillation process

South Morecambe Terminal

Operated by Spirit Energy. It receives gas only from the South Morecambe field. First to begin production in 1985. Gas is compressed via two GE LM2500+ gas turbines and Vectra power turbines that drive gas compressers. South Morecambe Terminal went off line in 2015 / 2016 and was decommissioned in 2016. The terminal will be demolished in late 2017.

Centrica gas fields

Operated by Hydrocarbon Resources Limited (HRL), owned by Centrica. These Centrica fields are some of the largest on the

UK Continental Shelf The UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) is the region of waters surrounding the United Kingdom, in which the country has mineral rights. The UK continental shelf includes parts of the North Sea, the North Atlantic, the Irish Sea and the English Channel; t ...

, and produces enough gas to heat 1.5million UK homes.

North Morecambe

Discovered in March 1976. Production started in October 1994. Both North and South Morecambe fields are about 25 miles west of Blackpool. This field is not manned and has one platform.

South Morecambe

Discovered in September 1974. Production started in January 1985. Gas is transferred to the South Morecambe Terminal. The Central Processing Complex (CPC) is powered by four dual-fuel

gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...

s, powered by the field's gas or low-sulphur diesel. There are five

drilling platform A drilling rig is an integrated system that drills wells, such as oil or water wells, or holes for piling and other construction purposes, into the earth's subsurface. Drilling rigs can be massive structures housing equipment used to drill wat ...

s and the main accommodation platform is in the CPC. 80% of the total gas in the Morecambe Bay area is in this field.

Bains

Gas is transferred via the South Morecambe field.

Chrysaor gas fields

Acquired by Chrysaor from ConocoPhillips in 2019. Formerly operated by HRL on behalf of ConocoPhillips. Also to include the Hodder (named after the

River Hodder The River Hodder is in Lancashire, England. It is a County Biological Heritage Site. It rises on White Hill and flows for approximately 23 miles to the River Ribble, of which it is the largest tributary. The Hodder drains much of the Fore ...

) and Asland (named after the River Asland) fields.

Millom and Dalton

Part of the Rivers project. Gas goes to the North Morecambe platform, where the fields are situated near to, then the North Morecambe terminal. Named after

Millom Millom is a town and civil parish on the north shore of the estuary of the River Duddon in southwest Cumbria, historically part of Cumberland, England. It is situated just outside the Lake District National Park, about north of Barrow-in-Furne ...

and

Dalton-in-Furness Dalton-in-Furness is a town and former civil parish in the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. In 2011 it had a population of 7,827. It is located north east of Barrow-in-Furness. History Dalton is mentioned in the Domesday Book, wr ...

in Cumbria. Millom discovered in April 1982 with production starting in August 1999. Dalton discovered in April 1990 with production starting in August 1999.

Calder

Gas goes to the Rivers terminal. Named after the

River Calder, Lancashire The River Calder is a major tributary of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England and is around in length. Course Starting in Cliviger, its source is very close to that of the West Yorkshire river with the same name, and that of the River Irw ...

. Largest of the Rivers fields. Situated just south-west of the South Morecambe field. Discovered in February 1982.

Darwen and Crossens

Not in production. Gas will go to the Rivers terminal. Named after the

River Darwen The River Darwen runs through Darwen and Blackburn in Lancashire, England, eventually joining the River Ribble at Walton le Dale south of Preston on its way to the Ribble Estuary. Course Originating at Jack's Key Clough where Grain Brook and Gr ...

and

River Crossens A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wa ...

References

External links

ConocoPhillips in the East Irish Sea

ConocoPhillips operations in the UK

Centrica operations

Rivers project

North Morecambe terminal being built in 1992

History of the gas fields

Costain construction of the Rivers Terminal (PDF)

News items

Helicopter crash inquest in March 2009

Gas storage plan in October 2007

Irish Sea gas fields in December 2006

Helicopter crash in December 2006

Rivers terminal being built in 2003
{{ConocoPhillips Barrow-in-Furness Natural gas plants Natural gas terminals Natural gas infrastructure in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures in Barrow-in-Furness Energy infrastructure completed in 1985 Buildings and structures in Cumbria Irish Sea ConocoPhillips Centrica Morecambe Bay