Sleipner will be partially electrified from shore to offset over 150,000 tonnes of CO₂ per annum

power from shore solution

Power from shore to the Utsira High and the Sleipner field centre and Edvard Grieg platform. (Credit: Equinor ASA)

The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has given its consent for the Sleipner field centre and the Edvard Grieg platform in the North Sea to be powered from shore by the Utsira High area power grid.

Both the Sleipner and Edvard Grieg platforms will use the power-from-shore solution that is in place for the Johan Sverdrup project, located in the Utsira High area in the North Sea.

The Norwegian ministry has approved the revised plan for development and operation (PDO) for partial electrification of the Sleipner field centre by operator Equinor and its partners in June 2020.

The partial electrification for the field is being taken up with an investment of around NOK850m ($100m).

For this, the Sleipner field centre will be tied to the Utsira High area solution. A 28km long power cable will be laid from Sleipner to the Gina Krog platform, which in turn will be connected via a 62km long high voltage cable to the Johan Sverdrup field centre.

The partial electrification will help Sleipner to offset over 150,000 tonnes of CO₂ per annum, said Equinor. The Sleipner field centre is slated to be tied in to the Utsira High area solution by the end of next year.

Existing gas turbines will also be used if the power requirement at the Sleipner field centre is not fully met by the Utsira High area solution.

Equinor technology, projects, and drilling executive vice president Arne Sigve Nylund said: “Partial electrification of the Sleipner field centre will contribute to major cuts in emissions from our activities and provide significant assignments for the supplier industry in a demanding time.

“As the authorities have approved the PDO, we can keep developing the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) towards the goal of zero greenhouse gas emissions in 2050.”

On the other hand, the Lundin Energy-operated Edvard Grieg field by using the power from shore solution will offset nearly 3.6 million tonnes of CO2 emissions over the field’s lifetime.

Lundin Energy said that the hook-up will be carried out when the area solution for the Utsira High fields is ready for operation. This will take place in connection with the second phase of the Johan Sverdrup field development, said the company.

Apart from the Edvard Grieg field, the solution will also supply power to the Gina Krog and the Ivar Aasen fields.

Lundin Energy Norway managing director Kristin Færøvik said: “Electrification of Edvard Grieg and Johan Sverdrup makes us as a company, and the Norwegian shelf, extremely competitive in the energy transition, but also makes us large-scale consumers of electricity.”