Subsea power system opens way to longer-distance deepwater step-outs
Shallow-water trials offshore Finland have proven the capabilities of ABB’s subsea power distribution and conversion technology system.
Source - ABB
Finland: Shallow-water trials offshore Finland have proven the capabilities of ABB’s subsea power distribution and conversion technology system.
The $100 M R&D project, supported by three majors, started in 2013 and main testing finished in November 2019.
ABB has completed a 3,000 hours shallow-water test of its world-first subsea power distribution and conversion technology system. All building blocks are now proven for the development, which started in 2013 under a $100 M joint industry project (JIP) supported by Equinor, Total, Chevron, and the Research Council of Norway. The main goals were to qualify the system’s capability to ensure reliable power supply of up to 100 MW, in water depths down to 3,000 m (9,842 ft), and over distances of up to 600 km (373 mi) via a single cable.
Using the new technology to power pumps, motors, gas compressors and other modules on the seafloor, closer to the reservoir, should allow operators to boost recovery rates, ABB claimed, also cutting the power consumption costs of their subsea field developments. The configuration is designed to supply power directly from the shore, if need be: analysis of a specific field development suggested potential capex savings of over $500 M if eight modules were connected via a single cable over a distance of 200 km (124 mi) from other offshore infrastructure.
Prior to the extended running test completed last November at the company’s quayside facility in Vaasa, western Finland, the transmission cable and subsea step-down transformer had already come through successful underwater trials. The fully proven subsea power distribution/conversion system includes medium-voltage switchgear and variable-speed drives (VSDs), low-voltage power distribution power electronics and controls. The distributed control system ABB Ability System 800xA was used to manage the test campaign.
Source: Offshore
Source za sliku: ABB