Page 28: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (Sep/Oct 2025)

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PROJECT SUBSEA COMPRESSION

I believe a large part of the success was because we managed to break down the barriers in the commercial framework and share information openly, ... I don’t think we would have succeeded without this collaboration.

– Mads Hjelmeland,

CEO, OneSubsea : OneSubsea

Source said. It was this achievement that he described as the proj-

Cracking the “Impossible” Nut

The project’s defning technical challenge was the ect’s "moon landing" moment—proving the impossible 120-km step-out distance, which set a new world record was, in fact, possible.

for power transmission to a subsea compression system. “The longest distance we had delivered on similar sys-

Psychological Safety was Key tems before was around 35 kilometers,” Hjelmeland While the technology was groundbreaking, Hjelmeland said, adding that there was considerable skepticism from emphasized that the project’s success was equally depen- some within the industry during the early verifcation dent on its collaborative framework. Facing unforeseen phase. “There were people at the time who said this was challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical not possible,” he recalled. turmoil, the alliance between OneSubsea, Shell, Subsea7,

The technical crux was the power and control umbilical and Aker Solutions functioned as a single, integrated team.

and the placement of the variable frequency drive (VFD) “What I really want to emphasize is the ‘soft’ side of 120 kilometers away from the motor and its controls. To the collaboration,” Hjelmeland stated. From the outset, de-risk this, the alliance built a full-scale simulator of the the partners established a clear platform for how they umbilical and connected it to the actual subsea system for would work together, moving beyond a traditional client- extensive onshore testing. “This is a unique capability that contractor relationship.

gives us the confdence to tell our partners that even if the A key tool introduced by Shell was the “learner mindset”.

technology is new, we can verify it together,” Hjelmeland "As things emerge or incidents occur, we take a step 28 OFFSHORE ENGINEER OEDIGITAL.COM