ABB wins $ 170 million contract for world's longest high voltage subsea AC cable
Friday, Dec 07, 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 System 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.

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Source: ABB