The recommended proposed timeline for an area solution for joint power supply from land entails installation in 2017 and power deliveries from 2018.
The timeline will make it possible to study the optimal location of a distribution platform for power, and provides a better basis for final design in relation to planning for Johan Sverdrup, which will be the field with the greatest need for power.
The study of the electrification solution for Edvard Grieg, Ivar Aasen and Dagny started in 2010. The discovery of Johan Sverdrup changed the terms, and the study for new fields on the Utsira High was continued in 2011.
The study was initiated by the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and is led by Statoil, together with operators Lundin and Det norske oljeselskap, along with the other licensees.
The study of a joint solution is based on the needs of four field developments and it is the first time such an area solution is studied on the Norwegian continental shelf.
The Utsira High may be well suited for electrification due to the large power need, favourable distances and water depths. Preliminary estimates place the power need for the four fields at around 250-300 MW.
The study consists of technical studies, concept development as well as assessments of commercial solutions for electrification of Edvard Grieg, Ivar Aasen, Johan Sverdrup and Dagny.
Øystein Michelsen, executive vice president for Development and Production Norway.
The intention of the study is to establish a joint framework for power supply from land as a basis for concept selection and investment decisions.
A key element in the further study is to mature and optimise a concept for a joint distribution platform for the Utsira High. The plan calls for concept selection in the fourth quarter of 2013, with an investment decision in 2014 by a joint ownership.
The various fields included in the study have different start-up times during the period 2015-2018. Installation of a distribution platform in 2017 and start-up of power deliveries in 2018 will increase the chances of securing a comprehensive electrification solution from the start.
Johan Sverdrup, with the largest need for power, is scheduled to start up in 2018. The work on Johan Sverdrup is in an early planning phase, and the final power need figures have not been defined. The base case, however, is to draw power from a joint distribution platform.
Edvard Grieg, Ivar Aasen and Dagny all have designs that lend themselves to electrification from the start-up of the distribution platform.
As regards the Dagny platform, concept selections have been made in which the licence is pre-investing in equipment to facilitate power from land, and only one gas-operated turbine will be installed for power generation. This turbine will only be used until power from land becomes available.
After power from land is implemented, the gas turbine on Dagny will be part of the back-up solution which is necessary to ensure power supply when parts of the power from land facility are undergoing maintenance, or in the event of an unplanned shutdown.
The Edvard Grieg platform has also made a concept selection in which the licence pre-invests in equipment to enable power supply from land. Edvard Grieg and Ivar Aasen have two turbines installed on Edvard Grieg which will generate power from the start-up of production. Ivar Aasen gets electrical power from Edvard Grieg through a dedicated power line, and is thus fully electrified from it comes on stream without any generators. When power from land becomes available in 2018 one turbine will be shut down on the Edvard Grieg platform.
"An area solution entails looking at the big picture, and Statoil believes in a joint distribution platform for the Utsira High," says Øystein Michelsen, executive vice president for Development and Production Norway.
Facts:
- Estimated power requirement: 250–300 MW . The power need for Johan Sverdrup, the largest power consumer, has not yet been identified.
- The study encompasses an offshore distribution platform, cables from land and from the distribution platform to the receiving platforms and converter facilities on land.
- Kårstø is the recommended tie-in point for the power grid on land.
- Analyses indicate various alternatives in relation to location and power needs:
– Independent installation and installation linked to Johan Sverdrup by gangway, or equipment placed on the Johan Sverdrup installation.
–Capacity will be considered based on the actual power need for the total area, and this will determine the design of the system. - Preliminary investment estimates: approaching NOK 10 billion
- Compared with a development with offshore power production, the savings on the fields is in the order of 1 million tonnes of CO2 per year – assuming a consumption of about 250 MW.