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The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has granted development consent for the Southampton to London Pipeline Project.

We have now received UK Government permission to install the replacement pipeline following an extensive
public examination process.

Work is underway to plan the installation of the replacement pipeline. We anticipate that early works will commence
in late 2021 and main pipeline installation will start from 2022. We will be releasing a location-specific timeline for
construction in spring 2021. You can view the final route on our interactive map.

In the meantime, we will be developing the documents that govern how we will construct the replacement pipeline
with local authorities and statutory bodies.

Frequently asked questions

We have now received UK Government permission to install the replacement pipeline following an extensive public examination process. Work is underway to plan the installation of the replacement pipeline, but the Covid-19 epidemic has unavoidably affected all those who will be involved in delivering the project, including local authorities, statutory bodies and suppliers. As a consequence, we now anticipate that early works will commence in late 2021 and main pipeline installation will start from 2022. We still expect to install the replacement pipeline within a two-year construction period. The commitments and environmental protections we have made for installation will not be affected.

We will be releasing a location-specific timeline for construction in spring 2021. In the meantime, we will be developing the documents that govern how we will construct the replacement pipeline with local authorities and statutory bodies.

About the project

We (Esso Petroleum Company, Limited) launched our Southampton to London Pipeline Project late in 2017. The project proposes to replace 90km of our 105km underground aviation fuel pipeline that runs from our Fawley Refinery near Southampton, to our West London Terminal storage facility in Hounslow.

  • This is a replacement for the existing aviation fuel pipeline, which has been in place since 1972.
  • Pipelines are a safe, secure and low impact method of transporting fuel to some of the UK’s busiest airports.
  • Once installed, the replacement pipeline will be buried and will be a quiet neighbour.

Feedback from the 1,400+ people who took part in our four consultations, plus our ongoing meetings and conversations with local organisations and landowners, helped us to confirm our final route for the replacement pipeline.