Zurich, Switzerland,
Dec. 6, 2012 – ABB, the leading power and automation
technology group, has won a contract worth $170
million from Subsea 7, to build a power link between
a new oil and gas field being developed by Total
E&P Norge AS in the North Sea and the Norwegian power grid.
The Martin Linge (formerly known as Hild) field
lies at a depth of 115 meters and has been identified
among the oil and gas fields with highest potential
reserves in the North Sea. The field will receive
its electricity feed through the world's longest
subsea AC link – a 162 kilometer long high-voltage
submarine power cable that will lie 370 meters
below sea level, at its deepest point.
“This electricity cable connection will help reduce environmental impact,” said
Brice Koch, head of ABB´s Power Systems division.
“ABB has the in-house manufacturing capability
as well as the technical knowhow, domain knowledge
and experience required to execute such a complex
project.”
The 145 kilovolt
high-voltage three-core polymeric insulated (XLPE)
submarine cable will be capable of supplying up
to 55 megawatts of AC (alternating current) power
from the mainland grid to the new Martin Linge
field. The cable will include fiber optic links
to allow the facilities to be controlled from shore.
ABB's high-voltage three-core polymeric insulated
(XLPE) submarine cables have low electrical losses,
excellent tensile strength and are resistant to
solvents, oil and abrasives.
ABB's project
scope includes the technical pre-studies, design,
engineering, production and installation of the
high-voltage cable system. The cable link will
power a wellhead and production platform, a floating
storage and offloading (FSO) vessel. Production
from the field is expected from 2016.
Subsea 7 is a
leading seabed-to-surface engineering, construction
and services contractor to the offshore energy
industry worldwide.
ABB (www.abb.com)
is a leader in power and automation technologies
that enable utility and industry customers to improve
their performance while lowering environmental
impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in
around 100 countries and employs about 145,000
people.