Power below

the waves
Transformers at depths of 3 km ESA VIRTANEN, ALPER AKDAG – As engineers place ever
more infrastructure under our seas, the demand for
electrical power there rises correspondingly. Central to
any electrical power system is the transformer. ABB is
the only company in the world delivering transformers
that work at depths of up to 3 km. Just how does one
design a transformer to work in such a remote and
hostile environment?

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 1 Ever more equipment is being placed on the sea bed

A
BB is an innovator in subsea
electrical solutions and has been
involved in the development of
subsea electrical equipment for
many years. Feasibility studies on subsea
components began in 1984 and the first shell and has been qualified for depths of Similar techniques are used in deepwater
commercial subsea transformer was deliv- up to 3,000 meters. oil fields. As these are at much greater dis-
ered in 1998. Since then, ABB has deliv- tances from the shore, they present addi-
ered transformers and variable speed drive Subsea transformers from ABB are used tional challenges to the industry. Opera-
systems to some of the largest and most with a range of subsea equipment: boost- tions here require specialized knowledge
advanced offshore developments in the ers, pumps, com-
world. pressors, pipeline
heating systems, ABB’s subsea transformers
Subsea transformers from ABB are engi- electrical distribu-
neered to provide superior performance tion systems, fre- are engineered to provide
and cost benefits for offshore develop-
ments that have subsea rotating equip-
quency converters
and wave hubs.
­superior performance and
ment located far from the nearest available Subsea environ- cost benefits for subsea
power supply. ments are extreme,
hazardous and ­rotating equipment located
The ABB subsea transformer is a liquid-
filled, pressure-compensated unit suitable
costly places even
to reach, let alone
far from a power supply.
for power supply operations in deepwater to use as sites for
fields. The pressure-compensating system industrial equipment ➔ 1. Why is it neces- and expertise, particularly when powering
keeps the internal pressure close to that of sary to install and operate equipment at compressors, pumps and motors at
the outside water by immersing the inter- the bottom of the sea? depths of several kilometers, possibly 50
nals in liquid and eliminating all air- and or 100 km away from the shore.
gas-filled voids. Cooling is provided inher- The deepwater frontier
ently through natural convection. The unit The exploitation of offshore oil in shallow Subsea technology makes oil and gas pro-
can be delivered with a single or double waters is declining as these relatively local duction possible at a depth of several kilo-
reserves diminish. Often, to maximize oil meters and pressure-increasing compres-
extraction, seawater or gas is pumped into sors enable continued production in
Title picture
the well to increase pressure and drive out waning oil and gas fields. The performance
ABB’s rugged, yet sophisticated, subsea transform-
ers deliver the power that makes the exploitation of the remaining fuel trapped beneath the levels required of deep-sea equipment are
subsea oil and gas possible. seabed. very high and reliability is decisive.

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 Including pigtail cables, connectors and
2 1.6 MVA subsea transformer for multiphase oil pump
compensators, the entire unit can weigh
about 60 metric tons and would most like-
ly sink into the mud or sand if it were sim-
ply lowered onto the seabed. The entire
structure is, therefore, mounted on strong
piles hammered into the seabed. Tubes on
the underside of the structure slot over the
piles so that the structure stands a few
meters above the seabed when properly
installed.

Once installed on the seabed, no further

maintenance is required. In fact, since the
scope for doing repairs is limited, due to
the expense of raising equipment to the
surface, ABB has invested a great deal of
time and effort to ensure all components
are of the highest quality and have under-
gone rigorous testing. These stringent
tests have ensured that all 20 ABB subsea
transformers currently installed are operat-
Bringing low-loss power to remote offshore air- and gas-filled voids within the outer ing reliably and safely and are providing
locations requires transmission at high volt- casing must be eliminated by immersing great performance and cost benefits to
age through subsea cables. Such transmis- components in liquid and a pressure- ­offshore developments.
compensating sys-
tem, to keep the Gulf of Mexico project

ABB remains the world’s internal pressure

close to the out-
In the Gulf of Mexico, at a depth of about
2,000 meters, an oil pipeline has to be
­leading manufacturer of side water pres- warmed in order to de-solidify oil that has
sure, has to be congealed due to pressure and cold
­subsea transformers capable available ➔ 2. caused by an unplanned production shut-
of delivering reliable power Since transformers
down. A mobile plant, consisting of an
electrical system, a subsea cable and a
underwater with minimal get hot when they subsea skid, will be transported by ship to
run, the type of liq- the place where the pipeline has frozen.
­losses. uid used inside the The subsea skid, which will include a sub-
transformer is criti- sea transformer and the electrical connec-
sion relies on step-up transformers to in- cal to its successful operation. The high- tors required to make contact with the
crease the voltage levels for transmission quality insulating oil used has a low pipeline, will be lowered to the seabed.
and step-down transformers to reduce the ­expansion coefficient and high compati- With the help of a remotely operated vehi-
voltage to a level suitable for the specialist bility with the other materials and compo- cle (ROV) the electrical connectors will be
electrical equipment at the offshore site. nents used in the transformer. Since the attached to the pipeline and the power
transformer is housed in a solid tank that switched on. The ship’s diesel generator
Underwater oil fields present some of the cannot expand, even when hot, the oil is will supply 480 volts and a step-up trans-
most extreme environments imaginable ­ degassed prior to installation. The heat former will be used to raise and regulate
for transformers. ABB remains the world’s generated by the transformer during the voltage to between 1 kV and 11 kV. On
leading manufacturer of subsea trans- ­operation has the potential to accelerate the seabed, the subsea transformer will
formers, with many examples powering chemical reactions, possibly enhancing lower the voltage to a suitable level. The
pumps and compressors that extract oil the corrosive effects of seawater, and, pipeline will then be heated up and after a
and gas from reservoirs below the sea- since the transformer is cooled by natural few days the blockage should dissolve.
bed, thus keeping wells productive­ convection, also the potential to attract
longer. living organisms to the outer surface of Åsgard field project
the casing. These factors necessitate the The most recent subsea transformer tech-
Since this specialized equipment oper- use of special, high-grade steel for the nology will ensure continuous production
ates deep beneath the surface of the sea, casing, which must also be able to cope in an Åsgard gas field 400 meters below
the step-down transformer must be able with the high pressures associated with the surface. Here, building a new offshore
to operate at these depths too. ABB sub- deep-sea locations. The largest subsea platform near the gas field was considered
sea transformers require specialized de- transformers so far are about 4 m tall, 7 m too costly. Moreover, the field is over
sign features that enable them to operate long and 3 m wide, and contain about 150 km from land, and 50 km from the
at depth, under pressure. This means all 14 m3 of insulating oil ➔ 3. nearest offshore platform. At these dis-

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 3 A 16.5 MVA transformer being submerged for a heat run and system testing at Vaasa harbor,
Finland. The three 22 kV penetrators and two low voltage signal connectors are visible

tances, and using conventional opera- connection transformer on the seabed is developing this technology for subsea
tional voltages (6.6 kV), most of the power eliminates the need to build a specific applications as well.
required to keep the compressor motors transformer platform. Tidal turbine parks
running on the seafloor would be lost. and wave-power converter parks could ABB’s first two operational subsea trans-
The solution is one of ABB’s most recent similarly benefit from ABB subsea trans- formers, rated at 1.6 MVA 11 kV  /1 kV,
subsea transformers, a rugged, powerful former technology as they become large- have been in operation since 1999 at a
unit capable of operating at depths of up scale commercialized operations. ABB depth of 500 m. Since then, ABB has been
has already been contacted by develop- incrementally developing larger units. ABB

All air- and gas- ers keen to understand the possibilities

of subsea power technologies that relate
has built and tested a 60-ton subsea
transformer for 20 MVA 132 kV/22.5  kV
filled voids must to their specific applications. and 16.5 MVA 22 kV/ 3.5 kV/3.5 kV/2.8 kV.
This was delivered to N ­ yhamna in Norway
be eliminated and Subsea distribution system (SEPDIS) for testing equipment in the Ormen Lange

pressure compen- SEPDIS was born out of the idea of

moving the electrical distribution system
gas field. Actual use in production is
­expected to begin in 2014. From a depth
sation is used down to the seabed. This enables elec-
trical power to be transmitted to the site
of one kilometer, it will feed power to com-
pressors installed to improve gas pro­
to equalize with in question at a high voltage and the duction. The Ormen Lange field supplies
distribution system to be located close 20 percent of the UK’s natural gas via a
outside water to end consumers. Electrically, SEPDIS 1,200 km long undersea pipeline.
­pressure. is a conventional transmission and dis-
tribution system with a limited number ABB remains the world’s leading manu-
of components and functions. Mechani- facturer of subsea transformers capable
to three kilometers. With high power cally, and in terms of its subsea capabil- of delivering reliable power underwater
and voltage ratings (19 MVA/31 kV/6.6 kV) ity, it is a very robust and sophisticated with minimal losses.
and a high operating frequency (up to system.
121 Hz), this specialized transformer is
the most efficient on the market and is Long transmission cables carrying high
capable of reliable operation at this site. voltages produce large amounts of ca-
Åsgard is the first gas field to utilize sub- pacitive power. This increases loading
sea compressors. ABB is manufacturing on the cable, as well as on other com- Esa Virtanen
nine subsea transformers for this project, ponents feeding the power chain. Shunt ABB Oy Transformers
scheduled for completion and testing in reactors are commonly used to elimi- Vaasa, Finland
June 2013. nate this extra load. This means that, in [email protected]
­future, subsea shunt reactors will also
Wind installations be needed for subsea transmission and Alper Akdag
Large, open-sea wind park installations power systems. As a leading manu­ ABB Management Services Ltd.
could use subsea transformers to con- facturer of shunt reactors for onshore Zurich, Switzerland
nect to the mainland grid. Placing a grid power and transmission systems, ABB [email protected]

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