Offshore staff
STAVANGER, Norway – Kjell-Børge Freiberg, Norway’s Minister of Petroleum and Energy, has opened the new power-from-shore service that will serve the Johan Sverdrup field complex in the North Sea for over 50 years.
Production, due to start late next year, will eventually peak at 660,000 b/d of oil, with carbon dioxide emissions of 0.67 kg/bbl. Operator Equinor estimates that power from shore will help cut the field’s emissions by 460,000 metric tons/yr (507,063 tons/yr).
The company undertook various initiatives to enable the supply of power from the mainland in the offshore commissioning phase. Various energy-intensive operations are planned prior to start-up, including the tieback of the eight pre-drilled production wells.
The Master Marine-supplied temporary accommodation rigHaven – where most of the offshore workers are living at present – will also be supplied with power from shore over the closing stages of the Phase 1 project.
Phase 1 power-from-shore solution capacity is 100 MW, based on production of up to 440,000 b/d.
ABB provided the HVDC equipment for the two converter stations which are onshore at Haugsneset close to Kårstø and offshore at the field center. At Haugsneset, the electric current is converted from alternating current to direct current, enabling transmission of electricity for 200 km (124 mi) offshore, while minimizing loss.
On arrival at the field center, the electric current is converted back to the alternating current needed to run the complex’s equipment.
Aibel managed all construction related to the onshore converter station at Haugsneset. Aker Solutions was responsible for the engineering and Samsung Heavy Industries built the riser platform that included the converter module housing the offshore HVDC equipment.
NKT fabricated and installed the 200-km (124-mi) power cables from Haugsneset to the field center.
InPhase 2, due to start up in late 2022, the power from shore capacity will be expanded by 200 MW to 300 MW. This will also allow power supply to be extended to other producing fields on the Utsira High – Edvard Grieg, Gina Krog, and Ivar Aasen.
Siemens has the contract to deliver the electrical equipment (HVDC) for the converter stations both onshore and on the field center. Aibel is building the Phase 2 converter station at Haugsneset, and NKT has a letter of award for supply and installation of the power cables for the second phase.
10/10/2018
