First oil is set to arrive at Statoil's Mongstad crude oil terminal near Bergen through the new Troll Oil Pipeline II this week.
The 80-kilometre line is currently being filled with output from Norsk Hydro's Troll C platform in the North Sea, reports production engineer Hans Dankertsen.
He works at Statoil's transport control centre at Bygnes north of Stavanger, which monitors the group's entire pipeline network for oil and gas off Norway.
The line, which is operated by Statoil, must be dewatered before the oil can flow freely. As crude enters from the platform, water is being removed at the Mongstad end.
It is likely to take about four days before the first oil reaches the terminal.
The pipeline has a maximum daily capacity of 300,000 barrels of crude, which will go into intermediate storage at Mongstad before being exported.