A gas pipeline terminal operated by Statoil has taken joint first place in the largest benchmarking ever conducted for such facilities in northern Europe.
This accolade for the Emden unit in Germany comes from the Dutch Juran Institute, which has assessed 19 installations involved in treating and storing oil or gas.
All are located around the North Sea basin, and were measured against criteria for operation, maintenance, health, the environment and safety, utilities, inspection, administration and support services.
Performance in each of these categories has then been summed to provide an overall mark.
The Statoil terminal in Emden, which includes the receiving facility at nearby Dornum, and the adjacent Norpipe gas terminal operated by Phillips Petroleum share first place with the best overall scores. Statoil does particularly well for HES and maintenance.
Emden has been a hub for Norwegian gas deliveries to continental Europe since 1977, when the Norpipe trunkline began operating.