Promising results from case study of oil & gas platform electrification with wave energy

Offshore oil & gas platforms require constant power supply and decarbonization of this power is a high priority. A case study with Lundin Energy Norway has shown that wave power is highly competitive with offshore wind power, both in terms of levelized cost of energy and providing a more stable power supply that requires only half as much power balancing.

To assess the sizing and power balancing requirements of the oil & gas platform, a one-year time series with sea state data was analysed. A design for a 100 MW wave farm was developed for on- and off-grid installations. The output power profile was compared with the output power profile from an equivalent wind farm and wind data for the same place and time period. The more consistent nature of waves was evident and wave power provided a significantly more stable power production.

An off-grid wind farm installation requires ⁓50% more energy storage compared to wave power, both in terms of power and energy capacity, and twice as much energy pass through the storage to balance the output. The cost for balancing the produced power is therefore considerably lower with wave power, by reducing both the cost of the energy storage system and the loss of produced electricity occurring when the energy storage is used.

Hydrogen was identified as the most viable solution for long-term seasonal balancing in an off-grid installation, due to the large quantities of storage required. It can also be noted that using depleted gas fields to provide hydrogen storage is considered an interesting opportunity for oil & gas companies to continue generating value from such assets.

“In addition to the very promising findings of this case study, it has also made it possible for Ocean Harvesting to develop a comprehensive array and system design, a handling plan, and a life cycle cost assessment for a 100 MW wave farm, all of which will be very valuable going forward towards sea trials and commercialization,” says Mikael Sidenmark, CEO.