Blue-C™ Subsea Compressor (illustration: GE)

Following an extensive, multi-year test program of Shell’s Ormen Lange Pilot, GE Oil & Gas has announced that A/S Norske Shell has successfully completed system testing of the world’s first subsea gas compression system with a full subsea power supply, transmission and distribution system that further advances the development of hydrocarbon processing on the seabed.

The Ormen Lange Pilot was a first of its kind and was designed to test a full-scale integrated subsea compression system in submerged conditions with real hydrocarbons. It has been run by A/S Norske Shell and its license partners Petoro, Statoil, Dong and ExxonMobil since 2011 at Shell’s test facility at Nyhamna in Norway where the gas from the Ormen Lange field reaches shore.

GE has been a key collaboration partner with Shell in the development of the compression system and supplied a number of the ground breaking technologies, including GE Oil & Gas’ Blue-C™ compressor – a centrifugal compressor specifically designed for subsea – and the world’s first subsea power supply, transmission and distribution system. The system enables operators to conduct gas compression on the seabed, reducing the need to introduce additional power generation on nearby offshore facilities.

Sitting at the heart of the compressor is the electrical package provided by GE’s Power Conversion business and due to GE’s deep domain expertise in electrical engineering, the high-speed motor and the high power drive provided are capable of operating hundreds of meters below the sea level reliably.

Neil Saunders, President & CEO, Subsea Systems & Drilling, GE Oil & Gas, says, “We are very proud of what we have achieved in partnership with Shell. We leveraged the GE Store, using our domain expertise and heritage across the GE portfolio, including rotating machinery, power electronics, high voltage designs and subsea production systems. Today, we are designing the next generation of compact and modular subsea compression systems to unlock new possibilities for power and processing worldwide.”

Tags: A/S Norske Shell, GE Oil & Gas