Pioneering Li-ion batteries on an offshore platform
Lourens Jacobs A B , Nancy Nguyen A and Ryan Beccarelli AA Woodside Plaza, 240 St. George Terrace, Perth, WA 6000, Australia.
B Corresponding author. Email: lourens.jacobs@woodside.com.au
The APPEA Journal 58(2) 719-722 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ17059
Accepted: 1 March 2018 Published: 28 May 2018
Abstract
Woodside is an Australian oil and gas company and a leading global operator of offshore gas platforms and onshore LNG processing facilities. It is a public company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. Woodside operates the Goodwyn A gas platform on behalf of the North West Shelf (NWS) Project.
Woodside assessed Li-ion battery technology and considered the technology mature and ready to be utilised on offshore and onshore operating assets. Woodside operates dedicated islanded gas turbine power generation at each of its onshore and offshore facilities. It was concluded that a large battery energy storage solution (BESS) can deliver several advantages if connected to such an islanded power generation system. The most significant benefit materialises by using a BESS as backup (or spinning reserve) for the gas turbine generators (GTGs). Woodside decided to pioneer the Li-ion BESS technology in a first of its kind application on the NWS Project offshore Goodwyn A gas platform.
The Goodwyn A BESS is designed for a 1 MW power and 1 MWh energy capacity, which is considered sufficient to provide the spinning reserve for the Goodwyn A platform. Currently, Goodwyn A operates four 3.2 MW GTGs to provide a typical load of 7–8 MW, with one GTG providing the N+1 spinning reserve. When the BESS is connected to the power generation system, Goodwyn A will operate three GTGs, with the BESS proving the backup in case one of the GTGs trip. The BESS will provide the full 1 MW for a minimum of 1 h, which will give the operators enough time to start the standby GTG or adjust the facility loads (load shedding).
The result will be a decrease in overall fuel gas consumption (due to better efficiencies on the remaining GTGs in operation) and a related reduction in CO2 emissions. The project supports the overall objective of the North West Shelf Project to improve the energy intensity of its facilities by 5% by 2020.
Woodside believes that developing capability and experience on the installation of BESSs, using Goodwyn A as an early adopter, will facilitate similar and larger installations on other Woodside operated offshore and onshore assets. This is one of the technologies Woodside believes will play an important role to ensure a lower carbon future globally.
Keywords: Australia, CO2, containerised, control, emissions, energy efficiency, frequency, fuel gas, gas turbine generators, Goodwyn A, HVAC, integration, inverters, maintenance, spinning reserve, voltage, Woodside.
Lourens Jacobs is a Principal Development Engineer at Woodside Technology. Previous roles include Engineering Manager, Technical Manager and Business Development Manager in the oil and gas industry in South Africa, Qatar and Australia. He developed several innovative concepts and successfully turned them into viable business propositions over the last 25 years. Previous developments include the production of synthetic jet fuel, using catalytic distillation to produce high octane gasoline and the conversion of natural gas into premium diesel using Fischer Tropsch technology. His current focus is new energy including energy storage, renewables and hydrogen. Lourens holds Bachelor and Honours degrees in Chemical Engineering. |
Nancy Nguyen is the Woodside Commercial Manager and has worked in the oil and gas industry for the last 12 years, pioneering new technology implementation. More recently she was part of the delivery team for contracting the first LNG-fuelled vessel into the Southern Hemisphere, contributing to establishment of LNG fuel strategy. Nancy holds a United Nations Women National Committee Australia Scholarship MBA from the University of Sydney. |
Ryan Beccarelli is the Woodside Operations Manager for the North West Shelf Project’s offshore production facilities including the North Rankin Complex, Goodwyn A and Angel platforms. Prior roles include engineering management and facility engineering for offshore oil and gas facilities. Ryan holds Bachelor of Engineering and Bachelor of Computer Science degrees. |
