Total, others to ‘invest £690m west of Shetland’

French energy firm Total and its partners will invest £690 million in operational expenditure west of Shetland over the next 10 years following the start-up of the massive £3.5 billion Laggan-Tormore gas fields earlier this week, according to Energy Voice.

Total has a 60% interest in Laggan-Tormore, while Perth-based utility SSE and Denmark’s Dong Energy both have a 20% stake.

Energy Voice reported that, asked about the French company’s commitment to the area, a spokesman for Total said: “Total and its partners will invest £690 million in opex (operational expenditure) over the next 10 years west of Shetland.

“Laggan-Tormore is a strategic hub for Total and central to our plans for operating in the UK.”

The publication quoted UK energy secretary Amber Rudd saying that Laggan-Tormore’s start-up was a “vote of confidence in our plan to tackle the legacy of under-investment and build an energy infrastructure fit for the 21st century.”

The Laggan-Tormore fields are expected to supply up to 2 million households — roughy 8% of the UK’s energy needs.

The Laggan-Tormore project is behind schedule and over budget — but the massive gas fields will produce up to 90,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and are crucial to the security of the UK’s future energy supplies.

The new onshore Shetland Gas Plant has a capacity of 500 million standard cubic feet per day.