ABB to pioneer microgrid solution for offshore platform

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, contributing to Woodside’s 2020 goal of reducing carbon emissions, and it 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 55,000-tonne 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 is transported via a network of pipelines to Goodwyn A and then sent onshore 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 containerised, 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 an ABB Ability PowerStore battery energy storage system incorporated within the microgrid, to provide a ‘spinning reserve’. A dedicated ABB Ability 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 user’s environmental impact and help optimise 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, MD of ABB Australia. “Our association began in 1983, and we are excited that our global centre 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.

Image courtesy of Woodside.