NKT announced that the company has won a project to install 200 km of 80 kV high-voltage DC offshore power cables for the second phase of the Johan Sverdrup oil field development project in Norway.

A press release said that the award, worth approximately 110 million euros, is conditional upon finalization of the formal contract which is likely to take place within a few weeks. The cable system, which will offer a +/-80 kV HVDC solution, is expected to be ready for use in late 2019.

The cable will transmit power from the Norwegian power grid to the offshore oil field, the release said, adding that power from shore to the oil platform is an environmentally sustainable solution, significantly reducing carbon emissions from oil and gas producti
Johan Sverdrup was described as among the five biggest oil fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. “I am very pleased that we continue working with our long-term customer Equinor Energy AS,” said NKT President and CEO Michael Hedegaard Lyng. “I see the letter of award as proof of our premium DC technology capabilities and of our ability to provide turnkey solutions with NKT Victoria as a differentiator.” He added that the award further bolsters the company’s “leading market position in the oil and gas segment, which along with offshore wind and interconnectors represents good growth opportunities for NKT.”

Earlier in 2018, NKT completed supply and installation of the high-voltage DC offshore power cable solution for the first phase of the Johan Sverdrup development project. Installation was conducted by NKT’s own industry leading cable-laying vessel NKT Victoria operating at 600 meters depth, which marks one of the deepest installations of bundled high-voltage DC cables in the world. In addition, the Johan Sverdrup 1 solution from NKT now constitutes the world’s longest extruded offshore cable to an offshore oil and gas platform facility.

The Lithuanian-Swedish submarine power cable, NordBalt, was shut down for what is expected to be two and a half months for planned repairs.

A story in The Baltic Course said that the repairs include the replacement of onshore cable joints that have been identified as the cause of frequent failures. It said that Lithuanian power transmission system operator Litgrid reports that 31 failures have been registered since the launch of the 700 MW NordBalt power cable in February 2016, including 12 incidents linked to cable joints. The repair work, expected to be completed by the end of October, will see 22 cable joints replaced on the Lithuanian side and 98 in Sweden.

The cable was provided by ABB, which in March 2017 was acquired by NKT. In a press release at its website, ABB outlined the project, which was described as the world’s longest HVDC Light® underground and submarine cable. “The NordBalt HVDC Light link is a joint project of the Swedish and Lithuanian transmission system operators (TSOs), Svenska Kraftnät and LITGRID AB. HVDC Light is an ABB technology for connecting transmission systems using submarine and underground cables. It offers several compelling benefits, including ‘invisible’ power lines, highly compact AC-DC converter stations, low cable and converter losses, and black start capability (the ability to rapidly restore system operations in the event of a systemwide power outage).”

The NordBalt project included “a 2 x 40 km HVDC Light underground cable on the Swedish side, a 2 x 13 km HVDC Light underground cable on the Lithuanian side, and a 2 x 400 km HVDC Light submarine cable across the Baltic Sea,” the report said. The ABB HVDC Light solution has a power rating of 300 kV. It includes two converter stations, “one at Nybro in Sweden and the other at Klaipeda in Lithuania, where the power is converted from AC to DC for transfer in the HVDC Light cable system. The Swedish power grid has a rating of 400 kV AC and the Lithuanian grid a rating of 330 kV AC; the two grids are asynchronous.”

Contacted by WJI, an NKT spokeswoman said that the owner of Nordbalt “has previously communicated that the line will temporarily be shut down due to cable joint repair. We ... (cannot) comment on any contractual terms, including repair costs.”

NKT reports that it has won a turnkey order of two high-voltage cable systems that will provide power availability and transmission security in the regions of Hedmark and Oppland in Norway.

A press release said that the contract calls for NKT to provide turnkey delivery of two 145 kV AC (alternating current) extruded cable system sets for the Mjøsa Project in the regions Hedmark and Oppland located North of Oslo in Norway. The order, from power grid operator Eidsiva Nett AS, will upgrade the grid in the region around Lake Mjøsa. It includes a total cable length of 35 km.

“We have great experience from several projects in Norway and we are excited to play a part in the continuous development of the Norwegian power grid,” said nkt President & CEO Michael Hedegaard Lyng, who noted that it will also support the integration of renewable.

The cables are to be manufactured this year at NKT’s facility in Karlskrona, Sweden, with commissioning set for 2019, the release said. It noted that nkt has extensive experience from projects in Norway and is currently executing on orders for the cable systems bringing power from shore to the oil and gas platforms.

Pourtier, a member of the Gauder Group, reports that it has received a multi-million euro order for a rigid stranding line from NKT Germany.

A press release said that Pourtier—which to date has commissioned more than 700 drum twisters and 120 rigid stranding and planetary lines—is supplying a new rigid stranding line, for 130 wires. It is designed to produce  3500 mm2 Cu round compacted cable and 4000 mm2 Al round compacted cables. The line is to be delivered early in 2019 to NKT’s operation in Cologne, Germany,  commissioned. The order represents repeat business, as Pourtier has previously provided lines to ABB plants in Sweden and the U.S. that are now part of NSW.

The Cologne plant was described as a state-of-the-art cable factory, designed to facilitate optimal cable production and an optimum of environmental protection. It produces medium- and high-voltage cables and accessories, fiber optic products, superconducting cables, submarine cables and VALCAP® Grid monitoring systems.

“It is a source of major satisfaction and pride to be involved, together with NKT Germany, in this very interesting still technically challenging project,” said Pourtier President Thierry Collard.