The Teesside Gas Processing Plant (TGPP) is one of the highest liquid extraction gas processing plants in Europe. The plant is located in North Yorkshire in the North Tees region in the UK.
The plant is owned by North Sea Midstream Partners (NSMP), an independent midstream specialist established in 2012 by ArcLight Capital Partners, under a contractual arrangement with px, an energy and industrial asset management company (the operator).
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An upper tier Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) installation, the plant was successfully constructed in 1993. It commenced commercial operations in 1993. The facility is capable to process up to 10% of the UK demand for natural gas.
North Sea Midstream Partners acquired the gas processing plant in December 2012 from Teesside Gas & Liquids Processing (TGLP). The plant has a processing capacity of around 675 million cubic feet per day (mcf/d) of natural gas.
The project has processed over 130 billion standard cubic metres (bscm) of gas to heat 121 million UK homes in 30 years of operations.
From 2024 to 2028, more than 25% capacity is available at the project to process natural gas from the Central North Sea.
Teesside Gas Processing Plant Location
The Teesside Gas Processing Plant is located at Seal Sands on Teesside in the northeastern part of the UK.
Seal Sands is a former estuary reclaimed for industrial needs. Seal Sands is located between Middlesbrough and Hartlepool in the southern part of Teesmouth National Natural Reserve.
Timeline
After commencing operations, the Teesside Plant was connected to the world’s first floating dockside Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) in 2007.
A new train was redesigned at the plant in 2013. In the same year, the Breagh Gas Field commenced operations. The onshore compression project of Breagh was sanctioned in 2020.
The plant completed 30 years of operations in 2023. In 2024, Lynx Line commenced operations. New natural gas liquids chain was commissioned in the same year.
The extension of the project is under construction and will be completed in the coming years as announced by px.
Teesside Gas Processing Plant Details
The Teesside Gas Processing Plant is operated by px including over 30km of associated pipework. The plant receives gas from the fields of Central and Southern North Sea.
From the Central North Sea, the natural gas is transported onshore via the 400km long Central Area Transmission System (CATS) pipeline.
From the Southern North Sea, the gas is transported onshore via the 100km 20-inch Breagh pipeline. The Breagh unmanned onshore facilities are operated remotely from the control room of the plant. The pipeline connects the Breagh Gas Field to the plant.
The plant processes the gas by liquid separation, condensate extraction, dew pointing, Mono Ethylene Glycol (MEG) supply, and regeneration via two trains.
The project is equipped with an Emergency Shutdown (ESD) system built around a HIMA HIQuad H51q-HS (SIL3 rated) Programmable Electronic System (PES) and a High-Pressure Protection System (HIPPS) located at the Beach Value Compound.
The ESD system comprise dual redundant CPUs residing in four system cabinets: three at the plant and one on the Unmanned Breagh Alpha platform.
HIPPS is based on HIMA HiQuad H51q (PES) and provides protection of the downstream pipeline against overpressure.
The Beach Value Compound is a landfill site located about 10km from the plant meant for the Breagh pipeline.
The plant is also processing gas from the Vorlich Field owned by BP and Ithaca Energy since 2020.
A condensate route known as the Lynx Line, a joint project between NSMP and Kellas Midstream, an independent energy infrastructure company, links the condensate export system of the CATS terminal to the plant.
Teesside Gas Processing Plant Contractors
AMEC provided a contract to CBL Cable Contractors, a subcontractor and supplier of cable solutions, for the gas processing plant. CBL was selected to install the cables for the power along with control and instrument cables.
DJM Aerial Solutions, a specialist inspection services provider based in Teesside, was selected by px to document construction process of the expansion part of the project.
The £494k civil works contract for the project was provided to Seymour Civil Engineering by px. Seymour constructed a steel framed general store, an oil store, and a lay down area.
Seymour also built 300m2 and 270m2 reinforced concrete slab foundations along with three smaller 24m2 slab foundations.
The other works by Seymour included ducting, drainage, manholes, inspection chambers, a 2.6m high post, wire fencing to the site’s perimeter, an access road and its tieback to the existing road network.
The emergency investigation and repair work of the existing high pressure fire mains with damaged pipework sections were a part of the work scope of Seymour. The contract length was 26 weeks.
In 2012, two contracts were awarded to SELLA CONTROLS, a Stockport, Cheshire based company, for the design, manufacture, and installation of safety systems for the project.
The first contract was awarded by AMEC to SELLA CONTROLS. Under the contract, SELLA provided ESD systems at the plant.
The second contract was awarded by the civil engineering and building contractor J. Murphy & Sons to SELLA. Under the contract, SELLA provided HIPPS for the project.
Sterling Resources, a company holding 30% interest in the Breagh Gas Field, signed an agreement with TGPP which was negotiated by RWE Dea, the operator of the Breagh Field with 70% interest, in 2010 for the plant regarding the processing and redelivery of natural gas produced from the Breagh Gas Field.
The scope of the agreement included the construction of a 10km section of an onshore pipeline across Teesside and construction work at the plant.
Under the agreement, TGLP delivers processing of the Breagh natural gas production at the plant and its delivery to the transmission system of the UK.
The construction and installation agreement of onshore pipelines and telemetry system reaching the plant from Coatham Sands, Redcar was signed with px.
The operations and management of the gas processing plant is being conducted by px. The logistics of gas and liquids is also managed by px.
