How do you produce the oil and gas the world needs right now – and at the same time reduce emissions? Far out in the North Sea region, 175 kilometres west of the Shetland Islands, bp’s giant Glen Lyon facility is providing some of the answers

The North Sea region is where our offshore teams have, for more than 50 years, tackled harsh weather and challenging conditions to supply the energy that keeps our world moving. It’s with that same spirit that the team is approaching the challenge of continuing to produce a reliable source of energy for the world while also cutting emissions. 

Sam Coupland is our North Sea business’s carbon advisor. He says: “There’s a lot of drive in the team to reduce carbon. Facilities like Glen Lyon have already made tremendous progress.”

Glen Lyon is our floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility – an 885-foot steel vessel as big as the UK Houses of Parliament – that celebrates its fifth anniversary this month. It was the result of more than 33 million hours and a multibillion-pound investment by bp and partners to unlock further resources from the Schiehallion area, west of Shetland. 

And in the five years since start up, it has successfully delivered 120 million barrels from three fields. Up to 140 crew are onboard at any one time, each making the 45-minute helicopter journey from Shetland. And once onboard, the team’s mission is clear: to safely and efficiently produce the energy the world needs and wants while driving down emissions. 

In the two years since bp announced its own net zero ambition, the average annual emissions from the Glen Lyon vessel have reduced by nearly 100,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent¹.