Thames - Mersey Pipeline System
The Thames - Mersey pipeline is owned by a consortium of oil companies comprising BP, Chevron, Fina, Mobil, Shell and Texaco. It was originally constructed between 1965 and 1968 and was extended in 1984. It is a multiproduct system of some 510 kilometers in length and supplies oil from coastal refineries and storage terminals to the UK's inland population centres.
From the south, the system (known as the South, or T-K Line) transports fuels northwards from Thames Haven and Coryton refineries on the River Thames to major terminal complexes at Buncefield in Hertfordshire and at Kingsbury in Warwickshire.
From the north, the system is supplied from Stanlow refinery and delivers fuel southwards (known as the North, or Mersey to Buncefield, or M-B Line) to terminals at Kingsbury, Northampton and Buncefield. In addition, oil products originating from refineries in west Wales enter the system at Kingsbury and are pumped southwards to Buncefield.
The West London system is dedicated to the onward transportation of aviation fuel to London's main airports. It comprises a large storage terminal and pump station at Buncefield, supplying Heathrow airport and a further section linking Longford to the Walton Gatwick system.
The total length of the West London pipelines is some 110 kilometers and the aviation storage tanks at Buncefield have a working capacity in excess of 60 million litres. The system is very heavily loaded during the summer months, when airport demand for aviation fuel is at its peak. Therefore all essential maintenance work is scheduled for winter periods, and special contingency measures are taken to ensure that any equipment failures can be repaired promptly with minimum loss of pipeline capacity.
West London Pipeline
South-East Pipeline
