Session: 09-05-01: Hydrogen and Energy Storage

Paper Number: 105003

105003 - Probabilistic Economic Assessment of an Offshore Energy Hub Supplying Electrical Power to a Floating Production Storage and Offloading Unit 

Environmental concerns surrounding our planet have been leading us to change how we produce and consume energy. More specifically, an ever-growing attention has been given to CO₂ emission and how it affects the climate. The European Commission has set the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030. In addition, Europe intends to become climate neutral by 2050. Therefore, different actions from several sectors of society have been employed to help achieve such goals. Within the energy context, significant investment and research have been done on renewable energy sources (RES) paired with storage devices (SDs) as replacements to hydrocarbon-based power generators. During 2018 in the Norwegian Continental Shelf, approximately 84.6% of the CO₂ emissions came from gas turbines, as stated by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. This fact makes it clear how the combination of RES and SDs is expected to play a crucial role in the future of the oil and gas industry since it has the potential of significantly reducing the need for polluting energy sources. This paper analyzes the economics regarding the sizing of batteries, fuels cells and electrolyzers connected to an FPSO and to an offshore wind power plant, thus defining an offshore energy hub system. The main objective of this study is to assess the viability of these components considering an emission-free production scenario. Load factors related to the oil producer and provided by an industrial partner are utilized and disclosed. Open-source wind data are used to simulate renewable power injection, with associated uncertainties being addressed. An economic model enables the evaluation of the net present value for different circumstances. Finally, the optimization-based approach allows the detection of key aspects related to the energy hub storage components.

Presenting Author: Ramon Abritta Aguiar Santos Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Presenting Author Biography: I have a BA and an MSc in Electrical Engineering, both awarded by Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF), Brazil. These degrees are recognized in Portugal by DGES and in Norway by NOKUT. I have published 5 papers in journals, and 3 papers in conferences. I have completed participation as researcher in a 2.5-year R&D project, which was hosted by UFJF in partnership with EDP do Brasil, and financed by ANEEL. In this project, I was the main developer of codes to optimize the operation of three Brazilian hydroelectric power plants. I am now a PhD candidate at NTNU taking part in InnoCyPES, project "Operation, maintenance and investment strategy for offshore energy hub". My main research interests are offshore energy hubs, renewable energy sources, oil & gas production, scheduling problems, operational research, and uncertainty analysis.

Authors:

Ramon Abritta Aguiar Santos Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Alexey Pavlov Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Damiano Varagnolo Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Børre T. Børresen Equinor