Oil and gas operators are developing subsea production systems at greater and greater distances from their respective hosts in deepwater basins worldwide. Many of these subsea systems have the potential to include subsea boosting systems (pumping and/or compression) in these installations, which presents the need for significant amounts of AC power to be delivered over these increasing distances. Recent experience and subsequent investigation has shown that the required AC power can be delivered efficiently and cost effectively to these installations via an innovative system approach involving a split of the major components of a typical Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) system, locating the AC/DC conversion equipment at the host facility where power is generated, locating the DC/AC conversion equipment on the seabed, in proximity to the subsea boosting equipment, and connecting the two via a DC transmission cable.
Through utilization of DC power transmission, we expect to eliminate the reactive power issues and line harmonics issues associated with AC transmission. Innovational approaches such as this one will make these installations more practical and cost effective, and open the door to even further capability.
