Woodside gas platform installs first battery micro-grid – to burn less gas

Australian oil and gas giant Woodside is installing a first-of-its-kind battery storage micro-grid on its massive Goodwyn A platform in the north-west shelf – so that the operations can burn less gas.

The 22-year-old Goodwyn platform is to install 1MWh battery “microgrid” solution offered by ABB that will enable it to switch off half of the small gas generators it uses as “spinning reserve”, decommission one unit, as well as reduce its need for a back-up diesel generator.

ABB says its containerised, plug-and-play PowerStore Battery storage system will fully replace one of the six existing 3.2MW gas turbine generators, and will mean half of them can be switched off rather than acting as spinning reserve. It also provides short term back-up in case of an outage.

It will mean the remaining generators can operate at a lower cost and higher efficiency, and maintenance costs will be reduced.

The Goodwyn A offshore production platform is located about 135 km northwest of Karratha in Western Australia, stands in a water depth of 131 meters and is more than 290 metres tall. It produces 36,000 tonnes of gas daily.

ABB says it has 40 such global installations in remote communities, islands, utilities and industrial campuses, including 15 in Australia, but this is the first for an offshore drilling platform,

“We are pleased to partner with Woodside on pioneering a PowerStore Battery energy solution for offshore oil and gas, which will decrease the users environmental impact and help optimize costs” said Massimo Danieli, head of ABB’s Grid Automation business in a statement.

“Microgrids and energy storage are key focus areas of our Next Level strategy and this innovative solution reinforces ABB’s position as a partner of choice in enabling a stronger, smarter and greener grid.”