Sullom Voe facts for kids
Sullom Voe is a long, narrow bay (called a "voe") located in the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It sits between two areas called Delting and Northmavine. This special place is home to the Sullom Voe oil terminal and the Shetland Gas Plant. The word "Voe" comes from an old Norse word, vagr, which means a small bay or narrow creek.
Sullom Voe is the longest voe in Shetland. It's partly protected by the island of Yell. During World War II, this area was used as an airfield for flying boats. Both the Royal Air Force and the Royal Norwegian Air Force used it. Later, when the oil terminal was built, this airfield was updated. It became Scatsta Airport, mainly used to help the oil terminal.
Discovering Oil in Sullom Voe
The first crude oil was found in the North Sea in 1969. Soon after, work began on building a large oil terminal at Sullom Voe. This terminal is located northeast of the village of Brae.
The Sullom Voe oil terminal started working in 1975. It was fully finished in 1982. At that time, it became the biggest oil terminal in all of Europe.
How Oil Reaches Sullom Voe
Oil travels through pipelines from big oil fields like Brent and Ninian. These pipelines carry the oil to Sullom Voe. Once there, the oil is loaded onto huge ships called tankers. These tankers then carry the oil to other places. Recently, Sullom Voe has also started to serve oil fields in the North Atlantic.
Protecting Shetland's Environment
When oil was discovered, many companies wanted to build their own oil facilities in Shetland. However, the Shetland Islands Council (SIC) wanted to protect the islands. They wanted to keep the negative effects of the oil industry as small as possible.
The UK Parliament gave the Shetland Islands Council special powers in 1974. This allowed the Council to make sure all oil pipeline facilities were built in one place: Sullom Voe. This helped to control the impact on the environment.
Today, the Sullom Voe terminal is run by a company called EnQuest. They manage it for a group of different companies. These companies work together in the North Sea and North Atlantic.
