Following ABB’s successful validation of the world’s first subsea technology power technology system last November, the company alongside OneSubsea, has conducted a new test demonstrating that 8-megawatt (MW) shaft power is available with one single Variable Speed Drive (VSD) connected to a compressor.
Utilizing OneSubsea’s multiphase wet gas compressor (WGC6000) operating in a hydrocarbon loop, the test was conducted in a shallow water pit at OneSubsea’s facilities on Horsøy, off the coast of Bergen.
Per Erik Holsten, Managing Director of ABB in Norway said: “The integrated test proves that we have a robust and reliable high power subsea VSD for submerged pumps and compressors like OneSubsea’s WGC6000 and those from other manufacturers.”
Funded by industry partners Chevron, Total and Equinor, the test took place during the summer. With lockdown travel and social restrictions prevailing the teams at ABB and OneSubsea carried out much of the work remotely, culminating in a virtual event with over 100 attendees from around the world, witnessing the test.
Holsten continued: “Our team rose to the challenges presented by the pandemic restrictions to enable this test to take place.”
By successfully completing this milestone, both ABB’s VSD and OneSubsea's multiphase compressor Have achieved Technology Readiness Level 5 (TRL5) and are ready to be deployed to the market. Together they offer a disruptive optimization of subsea processing and tie-backs.
The Variable Speed Drive forms a major component of ABB’s state-of-the-art subsea and power distribution and conversion system, that was proved commercially viable in world first at the end of 2019. The system enables companies to access a reliable supply of up to 100 megawatts of power, over distances up to 600 kilometers and down to 3,000 meters water depth via a single cable. It is expected to help transform offshore oil and gas operations, enabling increasingly remotely operated, autonomous and subsea powered facilities in the ocean space. ABB brings groundbreaking potential to the offshore hydrocarbon industry and new frontiers in the ocean space.
