US-12627200-B1 - Offshore electrical power grid systems

US12627200B1US 12627200 B1US12627200 B1US 12627200B1US-12627200-B1

Abstract

An electrical power grid may include generator circuitry, a motor, and a variable speed drive (VSD). The generator circuitry may include a turbine that may generate mechanical power based on a movement of a fluid, a generator coupled to the turbine that may generate electrical power based on the mechanical power, and the motor coupled to the generator that may perform an operation based on the electrical power. The VSD may be coupled to the generator and the motor. The VSD may drive the generator or the motor and receive a portion of the electrical power additional to an amount of electrical power consumption of the motor.

Inventors

Audun Magne Askeland
Bernt Helge Torkildsen
Arill S. Hagland
John Olav Fløisand

Assignees

ONESUBSEA IP UK LIMITED

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20250114

Claims (20)

1 . An offshore electrical power grid system, comprising: subsea generator circuitry comprising: a turbine configured to generate mechanical power based on a movement of a fluid; a valve configured to control the movement of the fluid; and a generator coupled to the turbine, wherein the generator is configured to generate electrical power based on the mechanical power; an offshore motor coupled to the generator, wherein the offshore motor is configured to perform an operation based on the electrical power; an offshore variable speed drive (VSD) coupled to the generator and the offshore motor, wherein the offshore VSD is configured to: drive the generator or the offshore motor; and receive a portion of the electrical power that corresponds to surplus electrical power, wherein the surplus electrical power corresponds to a difference between a first amount of electrical power being provided by the generator and a second amount of electrical power being consumed by the offshore motor; and a control system configured to: route the surplus of electrical power to one or more energy storage units via the offshore VSD in response to the first amount of electrical power being higher than the second amount of electrical power; supply energy from the one or more energy storage units to the offshore motor via the offshore VSD in response to the first amount of electrical power being lower than the second amount of electrical power; and adjust a position of the valve to cause the movement of the fluid to change based on the first amount of electrical power, the second amount of electrical power, or both.
2 . The offshore electrical power grid system of claim 1 , wherein the generator comprises a winding configured to generate the electrical power based on the mechanical power.
3 . The offshore electrical power grid system of claim 1 , wherein a flow rate of the fluid through the turbine is associated with a rate of mechanical power generation of the turbine.
4 . The offshore electrical power grid system of claim 1 , wherein the offshore motor is part of a compressor or a pump, wherein the compressor or the pump is configured to perform the operation.
5 . The offshore electrical power grid system of claim 1 , wherein the offshore VSD is configured to initiate electrical power generation of the subsea generator circuitry and the operation of the offshore motor by initially driving the generator or the offshore motor.
6 . The offshore electrical power grid system of claim 1 , wherein the offshore VSD is configured to adjust one or more frequencies of a voltage signal, a current signal, or both provided to the offshore motor based on the surplus electrical power generated by the generator.
7 . The offshore electrical power grid system of claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to control operations of the subsea generator circuitry, the offshore motor, the offshore VSD, or any combination thereof.
8 . The offshore electrical power grid system of claim 1 , wherein the offshore VSD is configured to output the portion of the electrical power to an on-shore electrical power grid.
9 . A subsea production system comprising: a subsea station coupled to a well, wherein the subsea station is configured to extract fluid via the well; a flowline coupled to the subsea station, wherein the flowline is configured to carry the fluid away from the subsea station; subsea generator circuitry coupled to the flowline, wherein the subsea generator circuitry comprises: a turbine configured to generate mechanical power based on a movement of a fluid through the flowline; a valve configured to control the movement of the fluid; and a generator coupled to the turbine, wherein the generator is configured to generate electrical power based on the mechanical power; an offshore motor coupled to the generator, wherein the offshore motor is configured to perform an operation based on the electrical power; an offshore variable speed drive (VSD) coupled to the generator and the offshore motor, wherein the offshore VSD is configured to: drive the generator or the offshore motor; and receive a portion of the electrical power that corresponds to surplus electrical power, wherein the surplus electrical power corresponds to a difference between a first amount of electrical power being provided by the subsea generator circuitry and a second amount of electrical power being consumed by the offshore motor; and a control system configured to: route the surplus of electrical power to one or more energy storage units via the offshore VSD in response to the first amount of electrical power being higher than the second amount of electrical power; supply energy from the one or more energy storage units to the offshore motor via the offshore VSD in response to the first amount of electrical power being lower than the second amount of electrical power; and adjust a position of the valve to cause the movement of the fluid to change based on the first amount of electrical power, the second amount of electrical power, or both.
10 . The subsea production system of claim 9 , wherein the offshore VSD is configured to output the surplus electrical power to a second offshore electrical power grid or an on-shore electrical power grid.
11 . The subsea production system of claim 9 , comprising a surface platform coupled to the flowline.
12 . A tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to: determine whether a rate of electrical power generation of subsea generator circuitry is higher than a high electrical power generation rate threshold or is lower than a low electrical power generation rate threshold; receive an indication that a portion of electrical power being generated by the subsea generator circuitry corresponds to surplus electrical power based on the rate of electrical power generation of the subsea generator circuitry being higher than the high electrical power generation rate threshold, wherein the portion of the electrical power being generated corresponds to a difference between a first amount of electrical power being generated by the subsea generator circuitry and a second amount of electrical power being consumed by an offshore motor; send a signal to an offshore variable speed drive (VSD) to cause the offshore VSD to supply the surplus electrical power to one or more energy storage units based on the rate of electrical power generation of the subsea generator circuitry being higher than the high electrical power generation rate threshold; and adjust a position of a valve to cause movement of a fluid through a turbine to change based on the first amount of electrical power, the second amount of electrical power, or both, wherein the turbine is part of the subsea generator circuitry.
13 . The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 12 , wherein the instructions cause the processor to initiate electrical power generation of the subsea generator circuitry by adjusting the position of the valve to start the movement of the fluid through to the turbine of the subsea generator circuitry.
14 . The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 13 , wherein the instructions cause the processor to: determine whether an operating frequency of the electrical power being generated by the subsea generator circuitry or being delivered to the offshore motor is outside a desired frequency range; and adjust the operating frequency of the electrical power being generated or being delivered based on determining that the operating frequency is outside the desired frequency range.
15 . The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 12 , wherein the instructions cause the processor to cause the offshore VSD to output an additional portion of the surplus of electrical power being generated to an external power grid.
16 . The offshore electrical power grid system of claim 1 , wherein the valve comprises a choke valve.
17 . The offshore electrical power grid system of claim 1 , wherein the valve is configured to control an additional movement of the fluid via a flowline comprising the valve.
18 . The offshore electrical power grid system of claim 17 , wherein the flowline is positioned in parallel with an additional flowline configured to couple to the turbine.
19 . The offshore electrical power grid system of claim 17 , wherein the control system is configured to: receive sensor data from one or more sensors associated with the flowline; and determine the position of the valve based on the sensor data.
20 . The offshore electrical power grid system of claim 19 , wherein the position is determined based on: the sensor data; and a low-pressure threshold, a low-pressure differential threshold, a high-pressure threshold, a high-pressure differential threshold, or any combination thereof.

Description

BACKGROUND The present disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for generating electrical power. More specifically, electrical power may be generated by harnessing a pressure of wind and/or pressure differential in the flow of oil, gas, and/or other reservoir fluids retrieved via a well to power wellsite operations and/or for export. This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it may be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art. As natural resources are extracted from reservoirs via wells, the extracted hydrocarbons may be transported to various types of equipment, tanks, processing facilities, and the like via transport vehicles, a network of pipelines, and the like. For example, hydrocarbons, such as oil and natural gas, may be extracted from the reservoirs via hydrocarbon wells and then be transported, via the network of pipelines, to various processing stations that perform various phases of hydrocarbon processing to make the produced hydrocarbons available for use or further transport. Well equipment extracting and/or hydrocarbon transportation equipment may be disposed offshore and, in some cases, at subsea positions. In some applications, the well equipment is deployed at substantial offshore distances and/or depths, and thus electrical power may be transmitted over long distances to these offshore positions. The power transmission distances may have an adverse effect on the electrical power being delivered to the offshore and/or subsea equipment. Moreover, in some scenarios, the pressure of the hydrocarbons within the pipelines, such as output from a well, may be higher than some threshold for effective/viable transportation and/or for being input into one or more hydrocarbon processing systems. As such, at one or more locations along the pipeline(s), the pressure of the hydrocarbons may be reduced, such as via a choke valve, to allow for improved handling and/or processing of the hydrocarbons. In some instances, the potential energy of the pressurized hydrocarbons prior to the choke or other pressure reducing devices may be large enough to harness for use with the well equipment. Thus, it may be beneficial to harness the potential energy associated with the pressure differential between the higher and lower pressure sections of the pipeline. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Various aspects of this disclosure may be better understood upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings described below in which like numerals refer to like parts. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a subsea production system for extracting a reservoir fluid, according to embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a portion of a flowline of the subsea production system of FIG. 1 having subsea generator circuitry, according to embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an offshore electrical power grid of the subsea production system of FIGS. 1 and 2 including offshore motors, the subsea generator circuitry of FIG. 2, and a variable speed drive, according to embodiments of the present disclosure; and FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example process to harness the potential energy of the pressure differential in a flowline by the offshore electrical power grid of FIG. 3 of the subsea production system of FIGS. 1 and 2, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Certain embodiments commensurate in scope with the present disclosure are summarized below. These embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, but rather these embodiments are intended only to provide a brief summary of certain disclosed embodiments. Indeed, the present disclosure may encompass a variety of forms that may be similar to or different from the embodiments set forth below. As used herein, the term “coupled” or “coupled to” may indicate establishing either a direct or indirect connection (e.g., where the connection may not include or include intermediate or intervening components between those coupled) and is not limited to either unless expressly referenced as such. The term “set” may refer to one or more items. Wherever possible, like or identical reference numerals are used in the figures to identify common or the same elements. The figures are not necessarily to scale and certain features and certain views of the figures may be shown exaggerated in scale for purposes of clarification. Furthermore, when introducing elements of various embodiments of the present disclosure, the articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to mean that the