‘Thousands’ of Jobs at Risk as Oil Giant Consider Closure Massive Lincolnshire Gas Plant
Falling world prices have placed thousands of jobs at risk as American-owned oil giant Cocono considers the futures of both the Lincolnshire North Sea gas pipeline and the Theddlethorpe gas terminal near Mablethorpe.
At least 150 staff are employed by ConocoPhilips at the east coast installation and hundreds more jobs in the supply line and associated industries are believed to be under threat.
Now the focus of national and international media speculation, the terminal can handle up to 34 million cubic metres of gas per day – about 10 per cent of UK total demand.
ConocoPhillips has announced that it is reviewing the futures of both the pipeline and terminal
It said: “”The onshore Theddlethorpe Gas Terminal receives gas production from numerous fields, some of which are owned or operated by other companies.
“ConocoPhillips is working closely with the OGA and is engaging with gas shippers and other stakeholders around the long-term plan for the terminal, but there are no immediate plans to decommission it.
“A number of the ConocoPhillips-operated gas fields which feed into the Theddlethorpe Gas Terminal have ceased production.
“And ConocoPhillips has developed a phased decommissioning programme to responsibly decommission the offshore infrastructure in those fields over the coming years.
“We are working closely with the Oil and Gas Authority and engaging with gas shippers and other stakeholders around the long-term plan for the terminal and pipeline.”
County and East Lindsey district Councillor Daniel McNally said: “If this happens it will be devastating economically to the area.
“It would impact on the business rates and have an effect on the services we provide in the Theddlethorpe area.
“And it would have a major effect on jobs in the local area.
“There would also be a massive knock-on effect on businesses including those providing accommodation for workers.”
Mablethorpe web designer Chris Flanagan of SiteE@se in Marian Avenue said: “This would be a second blow to the town and villages because of the impending closure of the Mablethorpe site of the Monks’ Dyke Tennyson College in August.
“I understood that the terminal’s future was already under review and that in time it will be phased out.”
Negotiator and valuer Sarah Atkinson at local estate agents Turner Evans Stevens said: “Some people don’t like the fact that the installation’s there anyway, so I think there would be very much mixed reactions locally if it were to close.
“Some people asking about properties do consider whether they are anywhere near the site.”
But a dramatic reduction in oil prices have already led to drastic job cuts across the North Sea oil and gas industry.
The reason is that the $115 a barrel price in summer 2014 has slumped to around $39 this week.
So far an estimated 65,000 jobs have been shed by the industry across the UK.
Oil and Gas UK has forecasts that 43 per cent of all UK oilfields will operate at a loss if the oil price stays around $30 this year.
Lincolnshire Offshore Gas Gathering System is one of the 15 biggest gas networks in the North Sea,.
And it is believed that if it were to close down many other oilfields would follow suit because they totally rely on its infrastructure in bringing oil and gas to shore.
National media said on Wednesday that at least 10 oilfields that are dependent on the pipeline.
They include the Audrey and Anglia fields owned by Centrica and Ithaca Energy apart from a few controlled by BP and Perenco.
In February this year ConocoPhillips (UK) Ltd was fined £3 million following a major leak at a North Sea gas platform off the Lincolnshire coast which caused the evacuation of 66 offshore workers.
The company, which admitted three breaches of health and safety regulations, was also ordered to pay £159,000 costs.
It followed an incident in November 2012 after a number of previous less serious gas leaks at the Lincolnshire Offshore Gas Gathering System.
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