40 years of Flotta Oil Terminal is celebrated
(Picture: Craig Taylor/The Orcadian)
The 40th anniversary of the Flotta Oil Terminal was marked at the terminal today, Thursday, with a dinner for invited guests, followed by a plaque being unveiled to mark the milestone.
Various guest were invited to the island for the occasion, those from the oil industry, Orkney and Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael who unveiled the plaque, Orkney MSP Liam McArthur, and Lord Lieutenant of Orkney Captain Bill Spence.
Councillors and officials from Orkney Islands Council, including Convener Harvey Johnston, and representatives from the local charities the terminal has supported over many years were also present. Folk from the Flotta community were also invited for the occasion.
During their address to those gathered for the occasion, Bill Dunnett, managing director of Repsol Sinopec Resources UK, and Flotta Terminal operations managers Ian Tulloch and Gary Marshalsey, all spoke of the pride that the workforce on Flotta have in the work that they do, describing them as real assets to the company.
Mr Dunnett, who is originally from Thurso, said that it was a real honour for him to be in Flotta for the occasion, adding that he was delighted that the company could also take their partners and shareholders to Orkney while marking the milestone.
He described the terminal as “an important hub asset” for the company, saying that he had been very impressed by the work which had been undertaken since he had been involved over the last two and a half years, highlighting safety and environmental performance aspects, as well as the industry leading uptime performance of the terminal.
Looking to the future, he said that the company saw feed platforms – which supply Flotta with its oil – producing into the 2030’s, and there were no reasons to say that the terminal does not follow suit.
He added: “It certainly looks good for the next 10 years, and there is opportunity for more production. We are looking at new satellite fields to tie back in to restart production from. We are growing production and are a growing company at the moment.”
Those present for the anniversary were also given a tour of the terminal, having enjoyed a lunch served by terminal caterers Sodexo which was based on the actual lunch served at the inauguration of the facility 40 years earlier.