Delayed British natural gas field online by Q1 2015, Total

The delayed British Laggan-Tormore gas field in the west of Shetland region will come online in the first quarter of 2015, French oil and gas major Total’s yearly outlook released on Monday showed.

The delay to the project, which was originally due to come online in the last quarter of 2014, was alluded to by partner, Danish utility Dong in its results in August( see ESGM 27 August ). Dong’s results only showed it was expected the field would start up at some point in 2015.

While the reasons for the delay remain unclear, the onshore processing plant construction has seen a number of industrial disputes over accommodation on the remote islands, off Britain’s northernmost tip.

The fields are due to flow into Total’s St Fergus terminal via the FUKA pipeline system, adding capacity of 14 million cubic metres at peak output, and containing reserves of around 35 billion cubic metres (bcm).

Total has an 80% stake in the project, with Dong holding the remaining 20%. There are plans to develop two adjacent fields, adding another 10bcm to their assets in the area, which will come online in 2017.

The field is one of the key developments expected to revive the fortunes of the UK Continental Shelf’s gas output, along with Canadian Nexen’s Golden Eagle field and Paris-based GDF SUEZ’s Cygnus field. Albert Evans