Feasibility of Wind Integration to Supply Water

Injection Systems in Offshore Facilities

Jess Silva

Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Trondheim, Norway
Abstract CO2 emissions of gas turbines on oil and gas

platforms can be reduced by local electrification using offshore

wind turbines. Local generation avoids investments on expensive
transmission systems connected to shore; similarly, improved
active-reactive support can be obtained from wind turbines on
existing platforms. This is important especially now that mature
oil fields require more energy to keep up production levels. The
availability of large offshore turbines ranging up to 6-8MW
allows the integration of significant renewable power to the O&G
installations were wind conditions are typically excellent.
However, having a large wind power generation share, put
challenges on maintaining the secure and stable operation of the
overall power system. Challenges on low inertia response, low
short circuit capacity, harmonics, reactive power support, and
wind intermittency become matters of main concern. Two study
cases are investigated: the first case referred to integration of a
large wind turbine to an O&G platform and second case analyzes
the power-frequency stability of a stand-alone water injection
system that feed a local load using a novel control technique
known as virtual synchronous machine. The second case have
been a concept proposed by DNV-gl for supplying power to water
pressure support systems located far from the host platform,
where usually there is a long step-out distance and cables costs
makes floating wind turbine an alternative solution.
KeywordsLarge-scale integration; off-shore wind turbines;
O&G platforms; isolated system; virtual synchronous machine;
water injection facilities.

I.

INTRODUCTION

Most the O&G installations are supplied by gas turbines (GT)

in open cycled mode that have even lower efficiency
(e.g.30%-35%) compared to the combined cycle gas turbines
(CCGT) on shore, these provide the required energy supply
for heat, electrical and mechanical operations. Electrification
from shore have been realized by HVDC transmission links in
few cases, as Valhall and Troll [1]. In 2014, the offshore O&G
operations emitted 14% of the greenhouse gas emissions in
Norway [2] of which, 80% were generated on the gas turbine
driven compressors. The Norwegian government has made
efforts in order to reduce the emissions, the electrification of
O&G offshore facilities on the Norwegian Continental shelf
(NCS) can contribute with a reduction of 4.6 million ton CO2
[1]. Cost savings on greenhouse gases taxation, shared
investment between petroleum and wind power plant
operators, the existence of wind resources on NCS, and
technology developments are main drivers for electrification.

The O&G facilities are located kilometers from the coast.

Typically, at water depths above 100m, under this
circumstance, only floating structures are technically feasible.
There have been some effort using floating wind power
generation showing positive results, Statoil Hywind Demo [3]
concept was installed in June 2009 on the west coast of
Norway with a 2.3MW Siemens turbine. The capacity factor
has been beyond 60%, compared to 30-47% of the best
offshore generation sites [1].
Some studies related to wind integration in O&G facilities has
been performed for off-grid or islanded operation in terms of
power stability and control [4] [5], fuel savings and C02
emissions [3] and HVDC-link connections [6][7] , which have
shown promising results in terms of power system stability.
Large power wind share on these installations should be
evaluated individually, since each the wind resources and
variability are location dependent. Load types and operation
are also particular for each case.
This paper deals with some of the challenges of large wind
power integration.
Two test cases are developed in
MATLAB/Simulink environment. The first case consists of oil
and gas platform supplied by synchronous generator driven by
a gas turbine, the loads include a water injection motor and an
accumulated PQ load, an AC connection to an aggregated
wind turbine, represented by DC source. In the second case,
the wind turbine is in stand-alone condition supplying a
passive load; the grid side converter of the wind turbine uses
vector control in the synchronous frame. Different control
loops are developed, including: inner current control,
frequency droop, and virtual synchronous machine control
loop. This last case, evaluates critical conditions for standalone solutions as black-start capability and power-frequency
stability under wind loss condition.
II.

STATE OF THE ART

An O&G offshore facility is typically an islanded power

system, consisting of many energy consumption units
including drilling, accommodation, processing, exporting and
water/gas injection [3]

Declining production in the NCS, requires pressure support by

means of water or gas injection, these are processes energetic
intensive. The industry will need more energy in the near
future, but at the same time, it needs to find alternative ways
to reduce gas emissions and maintain economic viable
operations. This leads to the incremental participation of wind
renewable sources.
Clearly, an O&G facility has critical services that cannot rely
completely on wind power due to the intermittency of this
resource. Some core processes cannot be disturbed by power
interruptions. Therefore, a controllable generation should be
guaranteed, provided by gas turbines. However, large parts of
the loads are flexible; for example, water injection pumps and
thermal loads, this specific attribute is essential and it can be
eventually used when shedding non-critical loads to keep the
power system instability, in the occurrence of a temporary
event or counteracting the wind power deficits.
Furthermore, load adjustment can plays an interesting role
when generation is lost due to faulty conditions or wind
turbine power fluctuations or downtime. As said before, a
capacity factor of 60% from Hywind prototype will result in
turbines operating more than half at rated power. Provision
can be made for the rest 40% needed.
When large wind power integration is considered, it must be
on the early stage of the planning phase, the power stability
should be ensured by fast actuators and appropriate control
mechanisms, and proper measures should be taken to address
the challenges it involves.
III.

LARGE SCALE WIND INTEGRATION CHALLENGES IN

STAND-ALONE SYSTEMS

Gas turbines are responsible for main system regulation, but

their control capabilities are reduced as more wind power is
integrated. Consequently, wind turbines must also offer
auxiliaries services supporting the frequency balance and
voltage. Simultaneously, load management should be applied,
as counteracting effect during low wind regimes or turbine
downtime. The next paragraphs summarized important
challenges when large wind power integration is intended.
A. Inertia Response
Synchronous machines driven by gas turbines and their
inertial response is the main source of control during an event.
However, when wind turbines are added the inertial response
is lost, due to the decoupling effect of power electronic
converters. This leads to limited control by the gas turbines
during transient events, in part due to the time response
constants. On the other hand, wind turbines are not designed
originally to offer ancillary services supporting frequency and
voltage stability. Nevertheless, a limited degree of support can
be implemented by using adequate wind turbine control
systems and concepts like virtual synchronous machine inertia
[8].

B. Black-star capability
Black star is an ancillary service procured for system
restoration after a complete or partial outage. These BS
resources must be able to energize buses and have on sitediesel or batteries, in order to provide power for the auxiliary
services used to star the unit. Communication infrastructure
and smart switches are vital as well as auxiliary power for
restoration scheme success [9]. The control algorithm should
be able to build up the low voltage network, controlling
voltage and frequency, connecting the controllable loads and
frequency synchronization with the distribution grid[10].
Commercial solution for BS in islanded turbines are not
available, but some efforts are being made based on diesel
units.

C. Variable Speed Drives on Large Motors

Usually large motors are driven by variable speed drives
(VSD). The VSD has the advantage of regulating speed and
torque independently. This capability is interesting in case of
wind intermittency. Even though, the technology commonly
used for large motors compressors for VSD are current source
inverters (CSI). The tendency is to be replaced by modern
voltage source converters (VSC); this technology offers a
power factor above 0.95 [1], which translates to lower demand
for reactive support and a more feasible implementation for
stand-alone wind turbines, that have a limited reactive
provision.
D. Limited short-circuit capacity and reactive control
Wind turbines are interfaced by power electronic converters;
thus, their short circuit contribution is limited to their rating,
and hence restricted, compared to synchronous generators.
Similarly, motors driven by VSD cannot provide short circuit
capability. A detailed protection system scheme should be
carefully considered to mitigate the occurrence of destructive
large currents. However, old gas turbines can be refurbished as
synchronous condensers and proposed in [11], to provide
reactive support, short-circuit capacity and inertia.

D. Load Control and Wind Intermittency

The operation and performance of an isolated system,
generally depends on the characteristics of the load. The load
is the sum of many individual loads and can represent
different quality and response requirements. Loads also
inherently change over time, which is something that must be
incorporated during initial system design. For instance, some
loads schemes can be implemented in order to control their
demand. This characteristic gives the systems flexibility as
the case for O&G facilities, this helps to keep the power
balance and likewise saving the system from having to start an
additional generator. This is often referred to as demand-side
management (DSM) ; the use of this scheme allows a great
deal of flexibility in the control of the power system [12]. If
trusted wind data is available, low wind regime periods can be
predicted and load could be adapted accordingly. This role of
load contribution and management should be illustrated in the
first study case, when a wind generation lost is counteracted
by a load reduction on a 5MW water injection pump.

E. Power Quality:
Power electronics used in wind turbines converters deteriorate
the voltage and current signals. Thus, filtering will be required
in order to reduce the harmonics produced by these devices.
The tuning of filtering components might require an important
effort and substantial investments. On the other hand, because
of the limited wind turbine reactive support; compensators
might be required to be installed.

F. Gas turbine efficiency and maintenance:

Gas turbine efficiency is affected by wind power contribution.
The average efficiency of the gas turbine is reduced by
roughly 5% [1] .In the case of platforms equipped with two
or more gas turbines, it is possible to shut one down during
maximum power delivery from the wind turbine. On the other
hand, considering a high wind variability this might let to
turning on and off gas turbines, which results in higher
maintenance costs and reduced components lifetime if it is not
handled appropriately.
IV.

THE STUDY CASES:

A. Case 1: Wind Power and Gas Turbine Integration

This case will investigate the control and system stability of a
power system, see Fig. 1, that consist of an offshore wind farm
connected to an oil and gas platform through a 5 km AC
submarine cable AC. The case study is based on an aggregated
8MW wind turbine connected to a 25MW gas turbine. The
O&G platform has the following electrical loads:
25+2j MVA, process loads (heating, lighting,
processes)
5 MW water injection pump/motor

Fig. 2, a. Voltage-current, b. Active-reactive power

c. Frequency, synchronous machine
As seen from fig. 2, the active and reactive power of the
synchronous machine driven by the gas turbine changes over
time depending on the loading. The first seconds, the gas
turbine condition is adapted by means of the governor and
frequency droop, affecting the machine speed. As 8MW are
imported from the wind turbine through the 5km AC cable, the
gas turbine closes fuel valves
Motor Start-up
The 5MW motor is started-up unloaded, afterwards at 5s a 1pu
torque is applied, the governor actuates to supply the new
energy required fig 2, and it reaches a stable conditions as
seen in fig 2 and 3, at11s .

Fig. 3, a. Rotor speed, b. Electromagnetic torque

c. Stator current, induction motor
Sudden wind power loss
After the system is fully loaded, a sudden interruption of wind
generation is simulated fig 4, 8WM generation is lost. The gas
turbine responds effectively supplying a peak of 1.2 its
capacity, as seen from fig 2.
Fig. 1, System 1 diagram. Process loads are lumped in a fixed
three phase parallel load.
The total system loading is changed dynamically during 20s.
After the steady state is stablished, a 5MW water injection
induction motor is started-up at second 5, later during 8-10s a
sudden lost of wind generation is simulated and then motor
de-loaded during this event.

After the event is cleared at 11s, the synchronous machine

reached its previous state fig 3, and the wind turbine starts
injecting power back to the network.
The frequency experienced small disturbances but within
60Hz valid range. The disturbance was counteracted by
effective control of the motor torque; during the event, the
motor was de-loaded. It can be interpreted that by adequate
load management it is possible to counteract wind variations
or power outages. If the wind energy is constantly monitored,
it is possible to control the water pumps flow rate in order to

account for wind variations and decrease pump mechanical

pulsations.

Fig. 4, a. Voltage-current, b. Active-reactive power

c. Frequency

at a low flow rates or be disconnected in high wind regimes,

for example in speeds exceeding 25 m/s.
Due to the stand-alone nature of the system, there is not
voltage and frequency reference provided by either a stiff-grid
or gas turbine as the previous case. The approach tested here is
the emulation of a synthetic frequency signal, this is done by
the implementation of virtual synchronous machine (VSM)
concept [8]. The control implemented here are described in
detail in [15].This systems is inherently stable, but the VSM is
more general and can run for cases where multiple turbines are
connected in parallel and system synchronization is needed.
The control loops considered here are:

B. Case 2: Stand-alone water injection system

DNV GL has conducted a high-level study on the potential use
of floating wind turbines for powering water injection
systems. Indicators of economic and technical performance
show an interesting window of opportunity for marginal fields
or platforms constrained by available power and space for
water injection systems[13], as well as cost associated with
transmission infrastructure.
Many water injection installations should be located at
specific points far from the host platform, even at step-up
distance of 30km as the case from Tyrihans Field [14] . The
system, see fig 8, consist of a 8MW passive load and a 8MW
wind turbine, the objective of the system is to inject raw salt
water to help pressurized the well and increase the oil
recovery rate using energy produced locally by the wind
turbine.

Fig 6, Current controller[15]

Fig. 7, Virtual Synchronous Machine Inertia with power

frequency droop [15]
The current PI controllers are tuned by Modulus Optimum
Criterion. The voltage loop

vd* ,qAD are not implemented and

the feed-forward terms kff v are disable or set to zero. The

parameters are taken from [15].
Fig 5, Stand-alone wind turbine and load
In this case, the load is feed with 100% wind power. The wind
turbine is set in order to extract the maximum power possible
and feed the pump/load. The load actually is considering only
the active part, vector control allows a decoupling between
active and reactive power, here the interest is on the active
part. During times of low wind regimes, the pump must work

In order to test the system, a sudden wind loss is simulated

during the interval 2-3s as seen from figure 8. When the event
is cleared at 3s, the system begins to recover showing some
oscillations until regaining steady state at full power, similar
to a second order swing equation. A point worth mentioning is
the inertia emulation, during the event the frequency starts to
accelerate reaching 62Hz, this is consistent with the
synchronous machine behavior since it is injecting
accumulated kinetic energy. Once the power is reestablished,
the frequency decreases from 62Hz to 58Hz, showing the
same behavior that a real synchronous machine would. The

control system offers a fast response and a black-start

capability, recovering 2 seconds after the power, which
coincides with the parameter Ta that emulates the synthetic
inertia.

[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]

Fig 8, a. Voltage-current, b. Active-reactive power

c. Frequency
V.

CONCLUSIONS

The increasing need of energy at the O&G installations, CO2

restrictions, weight and space limitations on the platforms
along with the existence of large turbine technology, has
brought attention to large wind power integration. Large-scale
wind power has challenges in terms of inertia loss, reduced
short circuit capacity, power quality, power reactive control,
black-start capability and gas turbine efficiency. In general,
60% capacity factor in wind turbines found in many locations
in NCS, along with the existence of large motor with flexible
loads, as it is the case for water injection system can help to
counteract the wind variability.
This work have developed two test cases for the evaluation of
islanded wind farms supplying local power, using wind
powered water injection as a specific reference application.
The first case, investigates the load flexibility on a generic
platform installation as a counteracting strategy to the
intermittent nature of wind, allowing large integration of wind
power to the platform. Successful 5MW motor start-up is
accomplished and 8MW wind loss is effectively tested
showing a stable power-frequency condition after the
contingency is cleared.
The second case, have evaluated a 100% passive load fed by a
wind turbine, the virtual synchronous machine control
technique in islanded mode is tested by implementing vector
control, three control loops: current, frequency and
synchronous machine. A wind loss event is simulated and
inertial response, black-start capability and frequency stability
is demonstrated.
[1]

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