| Administrative History | The Manifold Compression Platform MCP-01 was installed on the seabed in May 1976, and is legally considered part of the pipeline system. It had been registered on 13th February that year with the number 0119 and was jointly owned by the UK and Norwegian interest. The platform was built in Sweden by Doris Engineering before being floated and towed into position. This was a great advantage as it meant that almost no construction was necessary once the platform was installed in the North Sea. It was a concrete gravity structure, meaning that it remained on the seabed due to its own weight of 386,000 tonnes. Its perforated Jarlan wall was designed to protect the central core and dampen impact from waves. MCP-01 sat in 94m of water 173km, or roughly 108 miles, off the coast of Aberdeen, in block 14/9 of the North Sea. Its geographical co-ordinates were latitude 58° 49' 39" north and longitude 00° 17' 12" west. MCP-01 was designed to manage 30 million standard cubic metres of gas a day. The pressure in the system will vary with flow demand, with the maximum permitted pressure being 149barg.
MCP-01 is part of the Frigg Transportation System (FTS), and its main functions were as a pigging station, a manifolding station, and interconnecting platform for pipelines from other fields. Initially, only gas from the Frigg Field passed through the platform, but over the years a number of fields utilised the platform, including Tartan, Ivanhoe and Alwyn. Compression facilities were commissioned on 1st October 1983 for the Frigg Norwegian pipeline, but were decommissioned in 1990. Since then, the platform has been the entry point for gas from other fields to enter the 32 inch pipelines. The platform was never used to store hydrocarbons.
As of 21 December 1992, the platform became 'not-normally-manned' and thus was the first installation to be operated remotely from onshore, by the St Fergus gas terminal, although the nearby Tartan platform could shut MCP-01 down in an emergency. Tartan is not its nearest neighbour; that is Claymore platform, just 45km (27 miles) south.
Decommissioning was not originally planned until 2024, but environmental and safety studies indicated that it would be less risky and costly to carry out the work earlier. After consulting with stakeholders and the public, the decision was made to remove the topsides and leave the concrete base in place. |
| Custodial History | Records were retained by Total before being transferred to the Archive. |
| Description | Comprises reports, correspondence, minutes, photographs, engineering drawings, manuals, certificates, newsletters and financial papers. These are arranged into five function-based catagories: management and administration; health, safety and environment; engineering and construction; operations; and the cessation project. |