By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Aug. 24 -- Norsk Hydro ASA has let a contract to Aker Kvaerner ASA to develop a pilot program testing a new subsea compression technology in Ormen Lange natural gas field off Norway.
The project will evaluate a technology that GE Oil & Gas and Aker Kvaerner developed and test whether a subsea compressor station in water 900 m deep is a viable alternative to an offshore platform.
In the past, exploiting many gas fields in water deeper than 500 m has not been profitable because of the cost of conventional offshore platforms.
"If the project produces the expected results, the Ormen Lange partners will have a cost-effective alternative to the originally planned offshore platform," said Libero Mele, GE Oil & Gas regional general manager for central and northern Europe. "This technology then could be applied to other subsea field developments, eliminating the need for offshore platforms."
The conceptual design is complete for the 12-Mw compressor—the largest ever developed for subsea applications—and GE Oil & Gas is set to begin construction of the equipment.
The high-speed, oil-free compressor to be tested evolved from a 2.5-Mw conceptual design called the Blue-C Subsea Centrifugal Compressor unveiled at the 2002 Offshore Northern Seas Conference.
The compact Ormen Lange compressor module is a turnkey system designed for installation in water 850-1000 m deep and at a distance of 120 km from the Nyhamna terminal onshore. Minimizing the number of critical parts, the system has magnetic bearings and a high-speed electric motor directly coupled with a vertically orientated centrifugal compressor.
Pending the Ormen Lange partners' final approval, the pilot subsea compression station will undergo controlled endurance tests during 2009-11 at a gas treatment facility in Nyhamna, Norway.
