12/01/2012

Subsea Power Grid: Chemtech and Siemens develops an innovative technology

With a new concept in the supply of electric energy to offshore platforms, the Subsea Power Grid project promises to revolutionize the oil and gas sector, by taking a large part of the electrical equipment installed topside on the unit to the ocean floor. This innovation will also reduce the size of the platforms and the energy expenditure in the entire exploration and production, generating great cost economies and expanding the process productivity. Led by Siemens Norway, the project features the participation of Chemtech in the development of some stages of the venture.

The scope involves the creation of a software that will simulate the behavior of the equipment installed on the ocean floor. Chemtech will also be present in the tests of materials which will compose some of the equipment, analyzing, among other things, the resistance of these components to extreme temperatures and pressures. “These machines will be installed up to a depth of 3,000 m and shall have a useful life of at least 20 years. “That is why the materials capacity and a robust project for the equipment will be crucial to the perfect working order of such equipment”, explains the project manager, Alex Salgado.

In the case of the simulator software, besides making feasible the development of 100% national technology, the Subsea Power Grid also augments the bringing together of research and educational institutes for the materials qualification. All the materials tests within the scope of Chemtech will be held in the labs of the Instituto de Pós-graduação e Pesquisa em Engenharia of UFRJ, known as Coppe, with the support of that institution’s professionals. Considered highly strategic at Siemens, the project is also supported by a group of companies from the O&G segment, which intend to install the equipment at their units in the future.

Chemtech will still participate in the project for at least another year. “We are taking part in a project in collaboration with several internationally renowned R&D groups and research institutions, generating technology in the country, by Brazilian hands. This change in paradigm will leave a legacy that, certainly, will deeply develop all the universities and companies involved”, the manager points out.