Electrification of Subsea Systems Requirements and Challenges in Power Distribution and Conversion

Abstract

Abstract-The subsea industry has become more predominant in recent years because of the discovery of a significant number of new oil and gas fields located in deep water, a term often used to describe offshore projects located in water depths greater than 600 feet. In order to extract oil and gas, a large number of electrical systems need to be deployed at the seabed. Many of these electrical systems need high-reliability power grid and power control units located on the seabed to minimize downtime. Power system and power electronics play a major role in providing the required and reliable power to various electrical systems. But there are many challenges for deploying power components under the seabed. This paper presents the challenges and the requirements of power system components operating in subsea environment, use of power electronics for efficient transmission of power from the offshore platform or from the shore to the subsea electrical loads; variable speed drive systems; and research areas related to power electronics for subsea electrical systems.

Lifetime Analysis of IGBT Power Modules in Passively Cooled Tidal Turbine Converters

“…The converter under investigation is a 2-level back-to-back voltage source converter (2L-VSC), represented in Figure 10. 2L-VSCs are widely used in low voltage applications because of their simplicity [28]. Whereas the generator side converter controls the speed/torque of the generator, the grid side converter controls the real/reactive power flow to the grid at grid voltage and frequency.…”

“…These failure mechanisms, however are extraneous to this study. For deep subsea applications (>100 m) power converters are enclosed in pressurized enclosures [28,29]. However, tidal turbines are rarely deployed at this depth, hence, we do not consider pressurized power converters in this study.…”

Power quality enhancement by SiC Active Power Filters in Oil and Gas Platforms

“…As the gas coming from separators may have low pressure, it must be recompressed to be transported. Several types of compressors can be used for such task, with the largest centrifugal compressors having a power in the 80 MW range [2]. Metering, storage and export process conclude the production cycle, while treatment of chemicals and waste water is also needed.…”

“…Despite the growth of renewable energy, gas and oil are forecasted to remain the two main energy resources until 2050 and beyond. The offshore exploration and drilling of oil and gas (O&G) has gained momentum over the last decades [1], [2], and about 27% and 30% of the gas and oil extractions, respectively, are currently performed offshore. However, the power supply to O&G platforms still represents an industrial challenge.…”

Active Power Filter Pre-Selection Tool to Enhance the Power Quality in Oil and Gas Platforms

“…In the past few decades, offshore oil and gas exploration and drilling have increased significantly. Currently, offshore oil and gas (O&G) exploration accounts for 27% and 30%, respectively [1,2]. Still, fossil fuel combustion in power plants, oil refineries, and large industrial facilities [3] (including O&G platforms) is the main source of the anthropocentric CO 2 emissions, and the environmental problem is concurrent with the technical challenge of O&G platforms powering, in indicating the need for more electric and more efficient platforms.…”