World's Longest HV Subsea Cable Contract

ABB wins US$ 170-million contract to supply Martin Linge oil & gas field in the North Sea with mainland power from Norwegian grid.

The contract from Subsea 7, requires ABB to build a power link between a new oil and gas field being developed by Total E&P Norge AS.

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.

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.

“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.”