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    Harbour commissions electrification study for North Sea platforms

    July 30, 2021
    Xodus is assessing the infrastructure and modifications required to enable electrification of Harbour Energy’s central North Sea assets.
    (Courtesy Harbour Energy)
    The Everest platform in the UK central North Sea.
    The Everest platform in the UK central North Sea.

    Offshore staff

    ABERDEEN, UK – Xodus is assessing the infrastructure and modifications required to enable electrification of Harbour Energy’s central North Sea assets.

    This follows a power optimization study that examined the opportunities available to rationalize the generation systems on the Everest and Lomond platforms.

    Implementing electrification on offshore assets can reduce operational expenditure, increase uptime across all assets, and minimize carbon emissions. 

    The Oil & Gas Authority’s UKCS Energy Integration Report last year calculated that electrification could abate UKCS oil and gas operational emissions by 2-3MtCO2 p.a. by 2030, which is the equivalent of reducing 20% of today’s production emissions, rising to 40% by 2030. It also noted that platform electrification could extend the operating life of existing assets and achieve cost efficiencies in the development of new oil and gas fields.

    Xodus performed an in-depth, integrated subsea and topsides study to assess the scope and scale of the project required to electrify the assets. The company also analyzed the operational savings that could be realized in terms of fuel usage and maintenance burden across all assets from now until the end of production.

    James McAreavey, Concept Development Manager at Xodus, said: “A study of this nature requires an integrated multi-discipline engineering team that understands the critical elements of both renewable energy and traditional oil and gas operations in order to identify the true challenges and opportunities associated with large scale electrification of existing oil and gas assets. 

    “This study has the potential to provide essential input to the wider oil and gas community within the North Sea to enable a significant reduction of carbon emissions from offshore operations.”

    The company’s analysis has assessed a wide range of low carbon power sources and extent of electrification on the existing assets to help inform Harbour Energy’s plans to transition to Net Zero. 

    07/30/2021