Subsea Electrical Power Standardization

This paper gives a status of standardization work within subsea electrical power systems and equipment. The increasing use of electrical power on the seabed with project or operator specific design and test requirements, have made the need for common standards apparent. Based on an initiative from Statoil in 2010, a group of operators established a Joint Industry Project, Subsea Electrical Power Standardization (SEPS), with the key aim to establish international standards for subsea electrical power systems and equipment. The initial focus has been on subsea connectors and penetrators. PCIC Europe hosted the first meeting for this group during the annual conference in Oslo 2010. Motivation for the work, status for the work so far and plans for future work is presented. Since subsea electrical power systems are fairly new to the industry, an introduction to the main components and systems is also given.