Cracked gas pipe reopens as customers test repairs

Thefortiespipeline,which carries 40 per cent of North Sea oil and gas, has partially reopened after a crack was repaired.

The hairline crack was found during a routine inspection of the pipe south of Aberdeen earlier this month. The finding led to the shutdown and a safety cordon being erected around the area.

Operator Ineos said the repair was complete and some customers were now sending oil and gas through the pipeline at reduced rates while pressure is tested.

The pipeline is expected to reopen fully in the new year.

The 235-mile Forties Pipeline System links 85 North Sea oil and gas fields to the UK mainland and the Ineos site in Grangemouth.

The pipeline’s average daily throughput last year was 445,000 barrels of oil and about 3,500 tonnes of raw gas a day.