Page 34: of Marine Technology Magazine (April 2020)

FEATURE Seabed Electrification

Powering the seabed for a sustainable energy future

Late last year ABB announced the commercial availability of its new subsea power distribution and conversion technology system. Jointly developed by the company and partners

Equinor, Chevron and Total and having successfully completed a shallow-water test, the technology means that the majority of the world’s offshore hydrocarbon resources can be harvested through the use of subsea electrifcation. Tom Mulligan, Science and Technology

Correspondent, was in Finland to report on this groundbreaking development.

ffshore oil and gas operators have a clear vision for a safer, more energy-effcient future both for

O their mature basins and through to new, remote, deep-water frontiers, and to achieve this vision the industry has set goals to reduce emissions and environ- mental footprints; improve health, safety and security of personnel; and increase productivity and enhance asset cost eff- ciency. To help the industry achieve these goals, electrical engineering and power systems technology specialist ABB, in a $100 million research, design and devel- opment joint industry project (JIP) initi- ated in 2013 with partners Equinor, Chev- ron and Total, has designed, developed and tested a new subsea medium-voltage power distribution and conversion system that enables all production operations to be moved to the seabed, thus realizing the dream of a true subsea facility.

In November this year, ABB announced the commercial availability of the new subsea power system having complet- ed a 3000-hour shallow-water test at a sheltered harbor in Vaasa, Finland that demonstrated the validity of the technol- ogy. This means that the majority of the world’s offshore hydrocarbon resources can be harvested through the use of sub- sea electrifcation.

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