North Sea operators consider joint power link

Offshore staff

OSLO -- ConocoPhillips and BP are investigating whether they can coordinate the supply of power to the Ekofisk, Eldfisk, and Ula field facilities in the Norwegian North Sea.

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) asked both operators to look into joint electrification in connection with planned modifications and new installations in the Ekofisk area, and the replacement of the power supply on Ula, which is due in a few years. All three fields are expected to be in production for many years to come.
Results from the study are expected to be issued by year-end.

”The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has complete confidence in the operators carrying out all necessary studies to make electrification of these fields a real option when the companies present their development plans to the authorities for approval. The costs of such measures must be considered when the studies have been completed,” says Johannes Kjøde, NPD’s director of discoveries and fields south.

In 1996, Norway’s parliament (Storting) decided that supplying power via electrification measures must be considered instead of continued use of gas turbines in all new field developments and projects involving major modifications.

NPD is keen for more Norwegian fields to be powered by electricity from land, and believes the best opportunities could be in the southern part of the Norwegian shelf.

4/23/2010