Electrical Equipment / Components & Telecoms

Recently, the Qinhuangdao 32-6 and Caofeidian 11-1 oilfield group shore power application demonstration projects in the Bohai Sea area (hereinafter referred to as the “shore power project”) have been put into full production. The shore power project with the highest transmission voltage and the largest scale.

The industry believes that the traditional "self-power generation mode" of offshore oil fields consumes a lot of energy, and the transmission of onshore power through submarine cables to offshore oilfield platforms can provide effective solutions for offshore oilfield carbon reduction.

Traditional power supply mode hinders enterprise development

The Bohai Oilfield is an important energy production base in China. In 2021, it will achieve a crude oil output of 30 million tons. The oil field currently has 145 generator sets with an installed capacity of nearly 1.3 million kilowatts, which is equivalent to the electricity consumption level of a medium-sized city.

It is worth noting that offshore oilfield platforms will generate huge energy consumption during the exploration and production process. It is reported that almost every operation process of offshore platform equipment needs to consume electricity. For a long time, global offshore oil and gas development has usually used the associated natural gas or crude oil developed in oil fields to generate electricity for the platform.

Compared with land-based power generation equipment, due to the geographical location and space constraints of offshore platforms, offshore generator sets are scattered, the installed capacity of a single generator is small, the power generation efficiency is low, and the energy consumption is about 2-3 times that of large-scale units on shore. It is not conducive to energy saving and emission reduction, and its power supply stability is far inferior to onshore power grids.

"The energy efficiency and reliability of these offshore platform generators cannot be compared with the generators supported by the onshore grid. Offshore gas generators are designed to meet peak demand, so they usually operate under partial load conditions and have lower fuel power generation efficiency. ." Industry insiders said.

In addition, the operating cost of offshore generator sets is high, and additional personnel and expertise are required to adapt to the platform environment with limited space. With the increase in energy demand and increased awareness of the low-carbon transformation of the oil and gas industry, the oil and gas industry is facing challenges in reducing carbon, improving energy efficiency, and electrification.