The Hatton Compression station is a critical part of the high-pressure gas national transmission system – enabling and protecting gas supplies to millions of customers nationwide.

With nine pipelines linking it to other parts of the network, it helps gas flow from terminals in Scotland and the North East, provides demand support to the South East, and supports the interconnector flows at the Bacton gas terminal in Norfolk.

The station plays a pivotal role in ensuring the network can meet its 1 in 20 obligation – being able to protect the gas supply for customers during the UK’s worst winter in 20 years – and safeguard the heating supply for 2 million customers.

The requirements of the Industrial Emissions Directive have identified that two of the onsite gas compressors at Hatton no longer comply with emissions limits and need to be retired by December 2023. As a result, they will be replaced by a single, more environmentally friendly compressor.

Complex underground pipeline diversions

We completed three critical phases of the compressor upgrade. Enabling works and piping diversions, relocating existing lines that currently run under the main construction area, and installing suction, discharge and recycle pipework. In the third key segment of work, our teams have re-routed three existing pipelines connecting the compressor station and the above-ground installations (AGI) to make way for the new compressor.

Flexible working to meet critical deadlines

We accelerated the programme with weekend working and longer shifts to ensure the pipeline diversions were completed in line with a planned outage window. It was critical to meet our deadline, as delay would have led to an imbalance of the system and National Gas needing to amend scheduled outages in other parts of the system to accommodate.