In a move that advances subsea oil and gas production, A/S Norske Shell has successfully completed system testing of the world’s first subsea gas compression system with a full subsea power supply, transmission and distribution system, project partner GE Oil & Gas said in a news release.
The accomplishments comes after Shell and partners Petoro, Statoil, Dong and ExxonMobil embarked upon a multiyear test program of Shell’s Ormen Lange Pilot offshore Norway. The companies, working in collaboration with GE, started the project in 2011 at Shell’s Nyhamma test facility in Norway, where gas from the Ormen Lange Field comes ashore, the release said.
The project was designed to test a full-scale submerged integrated subsea compression system using hydrocarbons. Crucial to the development were several GE-provided technologies, which were tested as part of the pilot. The technologies, as highlighted by GE, included a 12.5 MW vertical Blue-C centrifugal compressor and subsea power supply, transmission and distribution system, which eliminated the need to generate more power on nearby offshore facilities.
The compressor was driven by an electrical package, provided by GE’s Power Conversion business, that featured a high-speed motor and high-power drive, GE said, noting this enabled operations to reliably take place hundreds of meters below sea level.
Other technologies tested included IFOKUS Electric Actuators, anti-surge actuators developed for 80kN fail open operation, and the NAXYS Acoustic Leak Detection System, which is used during the submerged pit testing to monitor for potential gas leakages as well as operation of rotating machinery and power modules, GE said.
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