Orcadian Energy (AIM: ORCA), the low-emissions North Sea oil and gas development company is delighted to present its final report into Central North Sea electrification, which has now been delivered to the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA, previously known as the Oil and Gas Authority or the OGA) and operators of facilities in the Central North Sea. “Orcadian’s Microgrid Concept” for the electrification of oil and gas platforms aims to dramatically cut carbon emissions, ensuring that the oil and gas that features in our future energy mix is as sustainable as possible.

Orcadian and its consortium partners have designed what they believe is a viable, reliable, off-grid option for powering North Sea platforms. The approach is founded on power from floating wind turbines, supported by energy efficient and highly responsive gas-powered generators with enough battery power to maintain a reliable supply. Floating distribution hubs will be used to collect the power from the wind turbines and distribute power to the operators’ platforms through a network of cables. The Directors believe this design can be more effective and cost substantially less than cable from shore solutions, with a potential to deliver an earlier and deeper cut to emissions. The Directors also believe future operating costs can be substantially reduced with this solution, which could enable mature fields to keep producing longer and facilitate development of satellite discoveries with minimised emissions. All of these outcomes would enhance the UK’s energy security and would ensure that emissions from North Sea oil and gas production remain world leading.

Advantages of the Orcadian approach include:

• Emissions reductions – approaching an estimated 80% reduction for offshore facilities.
• Lower costs – potential saving of almost US$2 billion and more than 25% cheaper compared to a solution that uses power from the UK grid, when capital and ten years of operating costs are included, for a subset of platforms.
• A practical way for operators to meet their North Sea Transition Deal commitments in terms of both the emission reduction targets and timeframe.
• Could be delivered quickly, and in phases, which allows a staged deployment with a steadily improving reduction in emissions.
• Opportunities for the core infrastructure to be re-used or redeployed – which could provide legacy infrastructure for the grid and/or other users.

Steve Brown presentd the concept at the DEVEX 2022 at P&J Live in Aberdeen this week.

Following the submission of the report Orcadian will now approach the appropriate operators with a proposal to further progress the electrification concept. If the concept was adopted by an operator, Orcadian and its partners would look to enter an agreement with its customers and further announcements would be made at that time. The Company is also exploring possibilities to participate in the upcoming Crown Estate Scotland INTOG (Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas) offshore wind leasing round to support implementation of the concept.

A summary of the report is available on the Company’s website.

Steve Brown, CEO of Orcadian Energy, commented: 
“We believe the UKs pursuit of greater energy security and sustainable oil and gas solutions has reached  a key turning point.

“Electrification of offshore oil and gas is not easy, but the North Sea Transition deal provides the imperative to do this. It is our view that oil and gas will remain an essential part of the energy mix for the United Kingdom for years to come and we must ensure that those hydrocarbons are extracted in the cleanest possible way.

“Our concept could not only help further ensure the energy security of the United Kingdom but could also ensure that North Sea production will become amongst the lowest for carbon emissions globally, returning the North Sea to its accustomed role as a trailblazer for the industry. The consortium that we have put together has the expertise to work with the operators and NSTA to deliver our concept.

“We believe the implementation of this concept across the North Sea would have significant benefits for the operators, the oil and gas industry and the United Kingdom. We look forward to working closely with all the stakeholders with a view to delivering this across the North Sea.”

KeyFacts Energy: Orcadian Energy UK country profile