Renewable

August 2 (Renewables Now) - UK green energy infrastructure developer Cerulean Winds has agreed to join exploration and production company Ping Petroleum Ltd in a project to supply an offshore oil and gas facility with wind power from a floating turbine.

The plan calls for Cerulean Winds to connect, via a cable, a large floating wind turbine to Ping Petroleum’s Floating Production & Storage vessel at the Avalon site in the UK Central North Sea.

An investment of between GBP 80 million (USD 97.8m/EUR 95.6m) and GBP 100 million is expected to be made in both the project development and the UK’s renewable energy supply chain, according to the announcement on Tuesday. The scheme is supported by a grant which Cerulean Winds secured under the Floating Offshore Wind Demonstration Programme from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

The infrastructure developer did not mention the exact size of the wind turbine that will be provided but noted that its output is most likely to exceed the energy needs of the production vessel. For this reason, the partners are exploring options to supply the excess power to other nearby production facilities.

“The creation of an additional revenue stream via the supply of excess energy to nearby facilities will positively contribute to our financial performance,” commented Tan Sri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir, Group Managing Director of Dagang NeXchange Bhd (KLSE:DNEX), which is the parent company of Ping Petroleum. He added that the project will provide the group with experience and exposure to the relevant markets and stakeholders within the renewables industry that “may lead to strategic business developments ahead.”

Ping Petroleum and Cerulean Winds signed a deal for the Avalon project during a meeting hosted by Secretary of State Kwasi Kwarteng.

“Platform electrification projects such as this are a welcome step forward to reduce emissions from oil and gas production, secure jobs and new skills and deliver on the commitments of the landmark North Sea Transition Deal,” Kwarteng said.

The Avalon site, which was acquired by Ping Petroleum UK in August 2021, is expected to start production in 2025. The field’s total estimated recovery amounts to 23 million barrels of oil. Thanks to the agreed wind power supply, it is seen to avoid the emission of up to 20,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions every year.

(GBP 1 = USD 1.223/EUR 1.195)

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