Operational study of a modular direct current power system for subsea power delivery

As the oil and gas discovery and processing is moving towards the remote deepwater areas, the electric power delivery via long step-out to the multiple subsea processing equipment becomes more crucial. The direct current (DC) power transmission and distribution system using modular approach is considered as a competitive system architecture for subsea power delivery. This paper presents a selective operational case-study of a modular dc system, including the subsea cable modeling and its impact on the system operation. The open-circuit fault is analyzed and the protective solution is discussed as well. A scaled-down system demo was built and several selected operation conditions are tested to verify the analysis. The system modeling and study approach can be also used for other power-electronic systems and emerging applications.