Brent System

The Brent System pipeline transports oil from the North Sea oilfields via Cormorant Alpha to the Sullom Voe Terminal in Shetland, Scotland.^[1] Since 3 August 2009, it is operated by Abu Dhabi National Energy Company replacing the previous operator Royal Dutch Shell.^[1][2] The Brent system is jointly owned by 21 companies.^[1]

Brent System
Location
Country	Scotland, United Kingdom
General direction	north-south-west
From	North Sea oilfields
Passes through	Cormorant Alpha
To	Sullom Voe Terminal
General information
Type	oil
Operator	TAQA Bratani
Technical information
Length	147 km (91 mi)
Maximum discharge	100,000 bbl/d (16,000 m3/d)
Diameter	36 in (914 mm)

Oil transportation system

Oil is transported from 20 oilfields, including:

• Thistle
• Murchison
• Hutton
• North West Hutton
• Dunlin
• Brent A, B, C & D
• Cormorant Alpha
• North Cormorant
• Tern
• Eider

Pipelines

The Cormorant A to Sullom Voe pipeline is 36 inches (910 mm) diameter steel (API 5L X60) of 147 kilometres (91 mi) in length. It has capacity of 100,000 barrels per day (16,000 m³/d).^[1] The Brent C to Cormorant A pipeline is 30 inches (760 mm) in diameter and 35 kilometres (22 mi) long.

Other oil pipelines are:^[3]

Brent system oil pipelines

Pipeline number	From	To	Diameter (inches)	Length (km)
PL001	Brent C	Cormorant A	30	35.9
PL049	Brent A	Brent Spar	16	2.8
PL048	Brent B	Brent Spar	16	2.3
PL045	Brent B	Brent C	24	4.6
PL046	Brent D	Brent C	20	4.0
PL1955	Brent A	Brent B	14 (flexible)

The specification for crude oil transported in the Brent system is as follows:^[4]

Crude oil specification

Parameter	Value
Entry point	Cormorant A
Exit point	Sullom Voe terminal
Crude oil	Non-sour
Base sediment and water	5%
True vapour pressure at entry	115 psia @ 100 °F
True vapour pressure at exit	220 psia @ 100 °F
Hydrogen sulfide	25 mg/l
Carbon dioxide	251 mg/l

Production

Oil production from the Brent field from 1976 to 1983 was as follows (1000 barrels):^[5]

Decommissioning

Shell UK Limited propose to decommission the Brent Field pipelines in the mid-2020s.^[3]