ABB set to create the world’s longest power-from-shore cable in a $90-million order

October 02, 2015

ABB is the number one power and technology group in the world. Just recently they had the winning bid for a cable system that will give power to the Johan Sverdrup offshore fields of oil. The deal with Statoil, which in one of the biggest companies of energy in the world, was completed for an astounding ninety million dollars.

Johnan Sverdrup is a massive offshore oil field that is located in the Norwegian Continental Shelf. It is located 155 kilometers on the western side of Stavanger, which is in the North Sea. When the oil field is up and running it is expected to produce 550,000 -650,000 barrels of oil in a single day, which accounts for 40 percent of the oil production the Norwegian Continental Shelf produces at the moment.

With such a huge venture at hand ABB is designing and manufacturing a revolutionary cable system that will have the capacity of transmitting 100 megawatts of power from the Norwegian power grid to a facility offshore that is used by Johan Sverdrup. In the end, the cable will run over 200 kilometers to the offshore facility, which will be a record for the longest ever created.

There are many benefits to the new system ABB is creating. The number one benefit is that since all of the energy is going to be supplied via electric power it will cut the use of having large equipment on the offshore platforms that use gas and diesel fuel to power them. This will save the environment lots of harmful gas emissions that would normally be released into the air. In short, the cable cuts the need of fossil fuels.

This project has many facets to it. Earlier in the year, ABB was granted an order to stream two high voltage direct current stations. What they will do is change the AC current into DC current at the Haugsneset onshore station. This new current will travel over 200 kilometers to the second station which is on an offshore oil platform. At this station the DC current will be reconverted back into AC current. From here the current can be distributed amongst the various fields it is supplying.