ABB to pioneer microgrid solution for installation on offshore platform
Features | Austria | 12.12.2017 | 3 min read
2017-12-12 - ABB AbilityTM enabled microgrid to support Woodside’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions and optimise costs
ABB will provide Woodside, Australia’s largest independent oil and gas company, with a PowerStore Battery storage system that is capable of remote management of operations and service. The system will be installed on the Goodwyn A platform. This innovative ABB solution will contribute to Woodside’s 2020 goal of reducing carbon emissions and will also help lower their cost of operations and maintenance.
The Goodwyn A offshore production platform is located about 135 km northwest of Karratha in Western Australia and has been operating since 1995. The production facility is more than 290 metres tall and stands in a water depth of 131 metres.
The platform combines production, re-injection, utilities and accommodation facilities. Dry gas and condensate from surrounding reservoirs transported via a network of pipelines to Goodwyn A and then sent on-shore to the Karratha Gas Plant for processing. Goodwyn A is designed for up to 30 production wells, including five re-injection wells, and has a daily production capacity of up to 36,000 tonnes of gas and 11,000 tonnes of condensate.
ABB’s containerized, plug-and-play PowerStore Battery storage system will support Goodwyn A’s existing gas turbine generators. The battery will replace one of the six existing gas turbine generators and will also reduce the need for using the emergency diesel generator. Short term backup will be provided via a new ABB Ability PowerStoreTMbattery energy storage system incorporated within the microgrid, to provide a ‘spinning reserve’.
A dedicated ABB AbilityTM Microgrid Plus control system will act as the brain of the solution and it will also be possible to remotely operate the microgrid if the need arises or the platform has to be de-manned for any reason.
"We are pleased to partner with Woodside on pioneering a PowerStore Battery energy solution for offshore oil and gas, which will decrease the environmental impact and help optimize costs' said Massimo Danieli, head of ABB’s Grid Automation business within the company’s Power Grids division.
'Microgrids and energy storage are key focus areas of our Next Level strategy and this innovative solution reinforces ABB’s position as a partner of choice in enabling a stronger, smarter and greener grid.
"'ABB has a proud history of the dependable supply of technology to Woodside, said Tauno Heinola, Managing Director of ABB Australia.
"Our association began in 1983, and we are excited that our global of excellence for Microgrids based in Darwin is contributing towards Woodside’s emission reduction targets with this innovative technology.
"ABB is a pioneer in microgrid technology with over 40 such global installations, across a diverse range of applications serving remote communities, islands, utilities and industrial campuses. 15 of these solutions are in Australia.