Offshore staff
DHAHRAN, Saudi Arabia – Saudi Aramco has connected a 230-kV, 46-km (28.6-mi) submarine composite cable to the TP-20 tie-in platform offshore Saudi Arabia.
This is part of a first-phase program to upgrade the field’s facilities under the“Safaniya Master Plan.”
TP-20 will be the main crude oil gathering and power supply hub for the North Safaniya offshore field. It will supply 152 MW of electric power via the power/fiber cable linked to a newly-built 380/230 kV onshore substation built by Saudi Electricity Co.
Aramco claims the submarine composite cable is the longest of its kind in the world and was installed as a single piece without a field splice.
The entire length of the cable was transported from the manufacturer on one deepwater cable laying vessel. With the help of a shallow-water cable laying barge, the cable was installed from onshore to TP-20.
TP-20 with its substation weighs more than 6,000 metric tons (6,613 tons) necessitated installation via a float-over.
Subsequently, TP-18 and nine wellhead platforms in the central Safaniya field were also successfully powered up.
TP-18 is designed to provide 62 MW via a 44-km (27-mi), 3-core 115-kV submarine composite cable from a newly-built 230/115 kV onshore substation.
06/30/2015
