Johan Sverdrup Phase 1

The Johan Sverdrup Phase 1 is an oil field electrification project, designed to supply power from the Norwegian mainland to the Johan Sverdrup oil field located 160 km west of Stavanger in the North Sea. This project is part of the first phase of the Johan Sverdrup field development, which consists of four platforms.

Power Transmission System

The HVDC system for Phase 1 has a capacity of 100 megawatts, sufficient to support the production of up to 440,000 barrels of oil per day. The power is primarily sourced from renewable energy, such as Norwegian hydropower, and transmitted through a 200 km subsea cable.

The system operates at ±80 kilovolts and utilizes Voltage-Sourced Converters (VSC) technology, which ABB refers to as HVDC Light. It includes two converter stations: one onshore at Haugsneset, near the Statoil Kårstø plant on the Norwegian west coast, and another on the offshore platform.

Environmental Impact

By supplying power from shore instead of using local gas turbine generation, the project significantly reduces CO2 emissions. Statoil estimates that this approach cuts greenhouse gas emissions by 80 to 90 percent compared to onboard power generation. The Phase 1 development alone is expected to reduce emissions equivalent to those produced by 70,000 passenger cars annually.

Technical Details

The HVDC link consists of two DC cables, each 200 km long, installed and buried in a single trench at the sea bottom for protection against fishing gear. The system uses a single monopolar HVDC configuration.

On the offshore platform, the HVDC equipment is housed in a module on the Johan Sverdrup Riser Platform (RP). Here, the power is converted and transformed to 33 kV, 60 Hz alternating current (AC) to meet the needs of the platforms in Phase 1 of the field center.

Project Timeline and Execution

The HVDC link was scheduled to go into service by the end of 2018, ahead of the field's production startup in 2019. ABB was responsible for the design, engineering, supply, and commissioning of the HVDC equipment for both onshore and offshore converter stations.

Collaboration and Contractors

The project involved collaboration between several key players. Statoil (now Equinor) was the operator, with engineering, procurement, and construction contractor Aibel working alongside ABB. Aibel was responsible for all construction related to the onshore converter station at Haugsneset. Aker Solutions handled the engineering, while Samsung Heavy Industries built the riser platform, including the converter module for the offshore HVDC equipment. NKT was tasked with the fabrication and installation of the 200 km power cables.

Future Expansion

The success of Phase 1 has paved the way for further expansion. Phase 2 of the Johan Sverdrup development, scheduled for 2022, will increase the power-from-shore capacity by an additional 200 MW, bringing the total capacity to 300 MW. This expansion will not only support increased production at Johan Sverdrup but also facilitate power distribution to other fields in the Utsira High area.

The Johan Sverdrup HVDC project demonstrates the feasibility of powering large-scale offshore operations with renewable onshore energy sources.