village and gas pipeline terminal, in the council area and historic county of Aberdeenshire, on the northeastern coast of Scotland 5 miles (8 km) north of Peterhead. St. Fergus is the major Scottish landfall terminal for North Sea gas. Natural gas arriving by deepwater pipeline from several undersea gas fields is treated there to remove water and natural gas liquids and transferred to the national pipeline grid. Pop. (2001) 633.