Hans J Marter

11 March, 2009

FRENCH oil company Total are upbeat about their £2 billion Laggan/Tormore gas development west of Shetland and promise more than 400 jobs during the construction period from 2010 to 2013.

Managers from the company were in the isles yesterday (Tuesday) to brief councillors ahead of an environmental and engineering consultation, due to start later this month.

Total hopes to get the green light for the project from the UK government at the end of September, by which time it would be ready to award the key construction contracts.

The company said the project is vitally important for the UK energy supply as it will introduce the first gas link from the west of Shetland to the UK mainland.

First gas is expected by the middle of 2013, by which time the company will employ between 50 and 60 permanent staff at the Sullom Voe Terminal.

The project will see the construction of a subsea gas hub at the Laggan field; two 18 inch pipelines, each 140km long, to Sullom Voe Terminal; construction of a gas processing plant at the terminal and a 234km pipeline from the terminal into the Frigg pipeline system leading into St Fergus.

Total expect initially to produce 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, using up all the capacity of the two 18 inch pipelines for the first four years. The company will provide six connection points on the pipeline allowing others to link in to the infrastructure.

The second pipeline into the Frigg system will provide between 20 and 25 per cent more capacity than what Total needs to allow other operators to use it.

Business development director David Mendelson said the company had looked at three different options of how to bring the gas ashore, and although the UK government had favoured an offshore facility, there had been no support for that among the oil and gas industry.

He said the company and its partners were confident that the project would go ahead, despite the present gloom in the industry fuelled by relatively low oil prices.

"This is a big and long term project. We are here in Shetland with the expectation we will go forward with this project," he said.

Duncan Talbert, the company's safety, health and environment manager for the project, said he and his team would be back in the isles to start the consultation process with fishermen, SEPA and Scottish Natural Heritage and others.