Offshore staff
LYSAKER, Norway – The jackupMaersk Invincible is being supplied with electricity via a cable link from the Valhall IP platform in the southern Norwegian North Sea.
According to Valhall operatorAker BP, this is probably the first instance of an offshore drilling rig being fully powered fully from shore.
Late last month, the newbuild rig began a long-term campaign of well plugging from the Valhall DP platform.
Valhall field director Per Mikal Hauge said: “TheValhall field receives power from Lista through a 294-km (182-mi) long subsea cable.
“We had available power supply capacity andMaersk Drilling made a commitment to facilitate electrification of the Maersk Invincible when it was built in South Korea.”
Electrifying the drilling rig should allow Aker BP to reduce its annual local emissions by 15,200 metric tons (16,755 tons) of carbon dioxide (CO2) and 168 metric tons (185 tons) of nitrogen oxide (NOx).
The rig receives power through a 500-m (1,640-ft) long high voltage cable from Valhall IP. Aker BP secured funding of up to NOK42 million ($4.96 million) from the Norwegian business sector’s NOx Fund for the electrification project and the associated modifications.
Plugging wells is part of a diverse program to modernize the Valhall field center. The three original platforms from the start of operations in 1982 – QP, DP, and PCP – will all be removed.
The remaining platforms, IP, WP and PH, are set to produce for many years to come.
06/07/2017
