EXPORT CRUDES FOR THE '90S COMMINGLED CRUDE FROM BRENT AND NINIAN STREAMS ASSAYED

Crudes from the Brent and Ninian pipeline systems have been commingled into a single stream known as Brent blend. The commingling began Aug. 2, 1990. Reasons for commingling the blends include declining throughput of both systems and the need to maintain Brent blend as a crude of consistent quality and volume. Brent blend's good refining properties and production rate have given it benchmark status. (See Table 1.) The price of Brent blend is used to calculate many other crude prices.

July 8, 1991

2 min read

Crudes from the Brent and Ninian pipeline systems have been commingled into a single stream known as Brent blend. The commingling began Aug. 2, 1990.

Reasons for commingling the blends include declining throughput of both systems and the need to maintain Brent blend as a crude of consistent quality and volume. Brent blend's good refining properties and production rate have given it benchmark status. (See Table 1.)

The price of Brent blend is used to calculate many other crude prices. Some Middle Eastern crudes sold in Europe are based on a fixed discount to the price of Brent blend.

Another reason for the commingling is cost savings. Because the two streams had been stabilized and stored at separate facilities at the Sullom Voe terminal on the Shetland Islands, there is now more flexibility in the system.

The commingled crude is shipped by tankers from the Sullom Voe terminal.

The 36-in. Brent pipeline system was the first multi-user line in the northern North Sea. Initially, it ran from Brent to Sullom Voe through the Cormorant Alpha platform. It now serves North and Central Cormorant, Tern, Eider, Dunlin, Osprey, Murchison, Thistle, Deveron, and Don fields.

The system is operated by Shell U.K. Exploration & Production. Peak production through Brent was slightly less than 1 million b/d in 1985 but has fallen to about 600,000 b/d, as output from the major fields has declined.

The Ninian pipeline system runs from the Central Ninian platform to Sullom Voe. It is a 36-in. line, operated by BP Exploration, and also serves Heather, Magnus, and Alwyn North fields.

The Ninian system has a capacity of 1 million b/d, but the stabilization system can handle only about 660,000 b/d. Peak throughput was about 400,000 b/d in 1985, and it is still handling slightly less than this amount.

Continuing maturity of the big East Shetlands basin fields like Brent and Ninian will ensure that the overall throughput trend is downward, although the development of smaller satellite fields that will use the existing production infrastructure in the basin will help to slow the decline.

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