JIP study says wind-powered oil recovery is feasible, cost-competitive

For certain oil and gas fields wind-powered water injection (WIN WIN) is technically feasible and can meet performance targets, and it may in fact be a cost-competitive alternative to conventional solutions.

This is the conclusion of the WIN WIN joint industry project (JIP) led by DNV GL, the Norwegian testing and advisory firm said Tuesday. In the example case, the project saw potential for costs savings of about 20% when using offshore wind turbines and not a conventional solution.

Supplying renewable power to oil and gas installations has been part of the original idea behind Statoil ASA (OSL:STL)’s work on the Hywind floating wind concept.

For the past year under the JIP, Statoil, ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM), the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, ENI Norge, Nexen Petroleum UK Ltd, VNG Norge and PG Flow Solutions worked together to develop the concept of using floating wind turbines to power a water injection system in detail. The participants, covering the value chain from wind production and operation, to pump manufacturing, to oil and gas operators, assessed technical and operational aspects as well as costs.

DNV GL said the JIP has identified no major challenges during the study. The results of the effort show wind-powered water injection is able to meet the field operator’s key performance requirements, including for reliability and minimized downtime.

The costs for wind powered water injection have been compared with a conventional alternative where water is injected via a flow line from the host platform. DNV GL says WIN WIN is a commercially competitive alternative in a number of cases, especially when host platform capacity is limited or injection wells are located very far.

Further work on the WIN WIN concept will involve testing critical subsystems in a small scale physical set-up. A potential phase II of the JIP is being explored with some of the current partners.

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