Long link

ABB has won an order worth $72m from Statoil, the Norwegian oil company, to build a power link to a new production platform in the North Sea.

The 98-kilometre underwater link from Mongstad in Norway to the Gjøa platform will eliminate the need for traditional generation solutions. The use of a subsea cable and power from a new power plant in Mongstad will avoid about 230,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year when operating at full capacity.

'Delivering electricity from the mainland provides reliable power supplies with low environmental impact. It also reduces cost compared to electricity produced at sea,' said Peter Leupp, head of ABB’s Power Systems division. 'These clear benefits have made it a popular solution for offshore platforms since we completed the first installation in 2003.'

The 115-kilovolt cable with a capacity of 40 megawatts will be the world’s longest power link bringing alternating current to a floating installation. The three-core polymeric insulated (XLPE) cable, with an integrated optical fibre cable for general communication purposes, is scheduled for completion by 2010, when the platform becomes operational.

ABB has delivered more than 2,300 kilometres of XLPE subsea cable to projects around the world since production began in the 1960s.

ABB has supplied submarine power cables to oil or gas platforms in the Persian Gulf and in the North Sea. Statoil’s Troll A gas platform, connected with a 70-kilometre submarine cable, was commissioned in 2005, saving an annual 230,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.