Ineos has completed its $250m acquisition of the 378km Forties Pipeline System (FPS) and associated pipelines and facilities including the Kinneil Terminal in Scotland from oil and gas major BP.

Ineos had carried out the deal through its subsidiary Ineos FPS, which is an integrated oil and gas liquid transportation and processing system.

The Forties pipeline with a capacity of 610,000 barrels of oil a day, connects 85 North Sea oil and gas assets to the UK mainland and the Ineos site in Grangemouth. It delivers nearly 40% of the UK’s North Sea oil and gas production.

Ineos’ acquired assets from the deal include the Kinneil gas processing plant and oil terminal along with the Dalmeny storage and export facility, the Forties Unity Platform and associated infrastructure, and sites at Aberdeen.

The transaction also sees transfer of around 300 personnel to Ineos FPS who are engaged with the acquired assets.

Ineos FPS CEO Andrew Gardner said: “Our acquisition of the Forties Pipeline System and associated assets together with its highly skilled workforce is significant and strategic.

“It demonstrates Ineos’ commitment to securing a competitive long-term future for this critical piece of oil and gas infrastructure and provides the platform to potential future offshore Ineos investments.

“We will bring our focus and proven track record on safety, reliability and excellence in operations and apply them throughout the FPS business.”  

Through the addition of Forties pipeline, INEOS further expands its upstream business to go along with the previous acquisitions of the Breagh and Clipper South gas fields in the Southern North Sea.

Opened in 1975, the Forties pipeline transports oil from BP’s Forties field and carries liquids production from the Central and Northern North Sea fields and a number of Norwegian fields on behalf of 21 firms.

The average daily throughput of the pipeline in 2016 was 445,000 barrels of oil and about 3,500 tonnes of raw gas a day.

Image: Ineos has acquired the Kinneil Terminal along with the Forties Pipeline System. Photo: courtesy of INEOS Capital Limited.