London, November 03, 2025, (Oilandgaspress) ––INEOS is today marking 50 years of the Forties Pipeline System (FPS), a piece of British engineering that has quietly powered the nation’s economy for half a century.
Officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 3 November 1975, the Forties Pipeline transformed the UK’s energy landscape. It took Britain from being almost entirely dependent on imported oil to becoming self-sufficient, fuelling homes, transport, and industry for generations.
Since then, the FPS has safely transported over 9.6 billion barrels of oil and gas liquids from more than 80 North Sea fields to the Kinneil Terminal at Grangemouth. At its peak, it carried around 40% of all UK oil production, providing the feedstocks for fuels, plastics, and essential materials that underpin modern life.
Today, FPS remains one of Britain’s most strategically important energy assets. It is designated as Critical National Infrastructure, supporting tens of thousands of jobs across Scotland and the wider UK, and providing the lifeblood for domestic manufacturing and historically, refining at Grangemouth.
Over the last 50 years, the UK’s North Sea oil and gas industry has contributed about half a trillion £ in taxes to the UK Treasury, but the current unfathomable Government tax policy on energy is self harming this abundant and essential energy resource. Under the Energy Profits Levy (EPL), tax rates on energy have climbed to 78%, investments are at an all-time low, and the UK is becoming increasingly reliant on expensive imports.
British politicians have placed their faith in global markets, declaring that oil and gas trade on international markets and so imports will always be available from somewhere. However, as the Treasury is discovering, the taxes from those oil and gas molecules will no longer be arriving in the Exchequer. And an increasing proportion of the billions of pounds paid out by UK consumers in annual energy bills will be flowing out of the country to support rival economies.
Since acquiring the system in 2017, INEOS has invested more than £500m to modernise, secure, and extend its life well into the 2040s and beyond. This investment ensures that the UK retains a strong and resilient energy network, capable of serving the economy for decades to come. However, an urgent change of Government policy is required to ensure this can be delivered.
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