Field project announced

FRENCH oil major Total said yesterday that with its partner, Denmark’s Dong Energy, it planned to develop the Laggan and Tormore gas fields west of Shetland.

Total said the cost of bringing the fields – which have combined estimated reserves of 230million barrels of oil equivalent – into production would be about £2.5billion.

First gas from the fields is planned for 2014.

Laggan/Tormore will be connected via a subsea pipeline to a planned gas-processing plant at Sullom Voe, in Shetland, with further export of processed gas to the UK Frigg pipeline system in the North Sea and then on to the St Fergus gas terminal.

The announcement came a day after Shetland Islands Council could not reach agreement with Total on importing Laggan/Tormore gas to the company’s proposed new £500million processing plant. A decision on any deal has now been postponed.