Energy generation at offshore oil and gas facilities could be transformed by new and emerging microgrid innovations that provide grid independence and improved supply resilience, helping to prevent power outages, reduce downtime, and decrease operational carbon emissions.
Microgrids can offer a valuable opportunity for oil and gas companies to adapt to the changing energy landscape and remain competitive by investing in clean energy technologies.
The global market for microgrids will grow by US$19.5 billion between 2020 and 2025, according to analyst firm Technavio, at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 13 per cent.
Microgrids have numerous unique advantages when powering remote operations, particularly their ability to utilise readily available renewable energy, and supporting the clean energy transition while still delivering affordable and constant power sources.
Off-grid benefits include low energy costs and fuel use, continuous power quality, uninterrupted availability of energy, and maximised battery lifetimes.
Through onsite renewable power generation, microgrids provide operators with strong network reliability as well as allowing for flexibility improvements, while keeping them on track to meet both environment, social and governance (ESG) targets and Sustainable Development Goals.
Microgrids typically combine multiple distributed energy resources (DERs) – such as solar PV panels, wind turbines, energy storage systems, and conventional generation technologies – with a control and management system capable of balancing energy supply and demand.
The importance of microgrid control systems was highlighted by a recent study in the Journal of Cleaner Production, which investigated an integrated energy management system for an offshore microgrid that encompassed three platforms and a floating wind farm, along with green hydrogen production and storage facilities.
To address the challenges around operational decision-making processes for such a complex grid, the researchers utilised a sophisticated smart management system that enabled efficient optimisation with advanced forecasting capabilities.
They wrote: “To power offshore rigs sustainably, a hybrid energy system that combines offshore wind power, on-site gas turbines, and power-to-gas storing electrolysers becomes a necessary solution.
“Integrating these diverse energy sources and technologies is imperative to transform various offshore drilling and production platforms into integrated energy microgrids (IEMs) that can interact effectively with offshore power plants.
“Implementing smart IME can optimise the use of diverse energy sources, minimise waste, and improve system reliability for the sustainable development of offshore oil and gas platforms.
“These advanced energy management systems facilitate decarbonisation efforts, enable remote monitoring, reduce human intervention, and enhance overall safety.”
Microgrids enabling clean energy operations
A report by the Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis (JISEA), a government-academia partnership between the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and a number of prominent US universities, noted that integrating clean energy into oil and gas operations could reduce emissions and maximise higher value use of produced hydrocarbons.
The JISEA research team performed a study to understand the benefits of embracing microgrids as an enabling platform to increase energy resilience and optimise the deployment of DERs for both grid and non-grid-connected systems.
They wrote: “Quantifying – and raising awareness of – the value of resiliency is paramount for the development, design, and operation of microgrids.
“Given increasing state and federal regulatory scrutiny, oil and gas operators could consider these novel approaches to decrease emissions and energy demand.
“Microgrids could become a highly effective tool kit that could not just help overcome operational challenges but help meet sustainability benchmarks.”
They also pointed out that battery energy storage systems could help oil fields deal with the challenges resulting from the large proportion of inductive loads and power electronic equipment (variable frequency drives), which represent significant sources of low power factors and harmonics in the distribution system.
The objective of the case study was to increase the probability of surviving electrical outages and maintaining full operations, utilising technologies including solar PV paired with BESS, natural gas generators that can use flare gas which would otherwise be burned, diesel generators, and microgrid controllers.
The researchers also considered various infrastructure upgrades, such as additions to the communications network and power distribution system.
They concluded that the adoption of microgrids provided two significant strategic advantages to oil and gas operations: increased resilience in overcoming electrical outages, and a greater chance of creating higher value streams from DERs through an optimised dispatch strategy and the deployment of ancillary services.
They said: “Future adoption of microgrids could realise the intersection of operations and sustainability and leverage their shared goals.”
New microgrid innovations
In a recent competition, the UK’s North Sea Transition Authority selected three electrification concept studies that showcased innovative approaches to self-sustaining power systems driven by renewable sources.
All three studies also showed it was feasible to achieve substantial emissions reductions of between 78 and 87 per cent, through ideas that eliminate the need for shore-based power and focus on autonomous energy systems powered by renewable sources, with the option of potential support from shore-based power cables.
The study by Orcadian Energy proposed a microgrid concept as a reliable off-grid solution for powering North Sea platforms.
The system would utilise floating offshore wind turbines to generate power, while energy-efficient gas-powered generators with substantial battery capacity would be equipped to guarantee a stable energy supply.
In a hub-style model, energy would be dispersed through floating distribution units to multiple operators’ platforms via a cable network.
Project Neos, a preliminary front-end engineering design (pre-FEED) study submitted by Ørsted, Neptune Energy, and Goal 7, explored the technical and commercial dimensions of establishing an electrical link between an offshore wind farm and an offshore oil and gas facility.
This connection would be supplemented by integrated energy hubs which can merge the various energy systems, encompassing current oil and gas production facilities, carbon storage infrastructure, and hydrogen production plants.
These hubs would prolong the lifespan of producing fields and provide further financial justification for electrification through renewable energy to maintain reduced carbon emissions.
The third selected concept, an enhanced approach for connecting dispersed renewable energy sourced to established offshore oil and gas facilities, provided a reliable solution for the supply of low-emission power.
The key focus of the study was to reduce the expense of adapting existing platforms – or brownfield modifications – by designing an efficient offshore electricity distribution network.
It also utilises backup power generation on a floating distribution hub to ensure uninterrupted power supply within the overall off-grid network.
The provider used a clustering approach in its method to show that it could electrify about 20 platforms across a substantial portion of the central North Sea in UK waters.