Offshore staff
OSLO, Norway – More oil companies in Norway are considering electrification projects offshore to reduce their emissions, according to a report by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate.
Currently eight fields on the Norwegian shelf receive power from the Norwegian onshore grid, and more firm schemes are planned for eight others. This should lead to total CO2 emissions reduction of around 3.2 MM metric tons (3.53 MM tons), the NPD said.
A further six electrification projects are approaching an investment decision. If those go ahead, the reduction will amount to roughly 4.9 MM metric tons (5.4 MM tons) annually.
Based on current developments, more than 50% of Norwegian petroleum production now looks set to run on power from shore from the mid-2020s.
The NPD prepared the report with the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, the Norwegian Environment Agency, and the Petroleum Safety Authority. It was submitted last Friday to Minister of Petroleum and Energy Tina Bru.
“In a few years, power from shore can allow us to avoid CO2 emissions equivalent to 10% of total Norwegian greenhouse gas emissions,” said NPD director general Ingrid Sølvberg. “The companies are also working on several projects that could provide additional emission cuts beyond this.”
The eight fields already hooked up to the grid are Troll, Gjøa, Ormen Lange, Valhall, Goliat, and Johan Sverdrup. Vega in the North Sea operates with power from shore via the host platform Gjøa, likewise Hod via Valhall.
Martin Linge, currently under development, will be supplied with power from shore, while Edvard Grieg, Ivar Aasen, Gina Krog, Solveig and Hanz will receive power under an area-wide solution on the Utsira High in the North Sea, part of Johan Sverdrup’s second phase.
The Duva and Nova tiebacks too will receive power from shore via Gjøa.
The six other projects at an advanced stage of planning are on Troll B, Troll C, the Oseberg field center and Oseberg Sør, Sleipner, and the Melkøya onshore LNG facility in northern Norway.
Sleipner’s scheme, now under regulatory review, would also extend power from shore to the associated Gudrun, Sigyn, Gugne, and Utgard fields.
Calculations show that the projects have a measure cost of less than NOK 1,500 ($155 million) per metric ton of CO2.
Collectively they will increase annual power consumption in Norway by up to 4 TWh, or 3% annually, and this will cause the country’s electricity prices to rise. One pre-condition is that the onshore power system must be able to handle the increase in consumption, without impacting security of supply for existing customers.
Electrification of the onshore facility on Melkøya will require construction of a new power line. And this facility, along with Troll B and C, the Oseberg field center and Oseberg Sør, will have to be disconnected if the power grid is under strain, potentially switching to their own back-up power supply.
A solution with alternating current does not require as much equipment on the platforms as direct current, the NPD pointed out, adding that technology has also been developed for power from shore to FPSOs.
06/29/2020
