Gassco has taken over the operatorship of the new Utsira High gas pipe (UHGP), which will transport rich gas to Britain’s Scottish Area Gas Evacuation (Sage) system and St Fergus in Scotland.

Running for 94 kilometres, this pipeline starts at the Edvard Grieg field about 57 kilometres north of Sleipner in the northern North Sea.

“We have collaborated closely and well with development operator Statoil while readying the UHGP,” reports Kristin Kinn Kaste, vice president for the transport network at Gassco.

“The next milestone will be to complete dewatering and start to fill with gas, and the line is expected to become operational by the end of this year. This means we’re now responsible for more than 8 300 kilometres of gas pipelines.”

Gassco became the operator for the UHGP joint venture on November 1 and is also responsible for technical management of the new facility.

The UHGP rich gas line ties into the existing Saga pipeline and has a technical capacity of five million standard cubic metres per day.