Prysmian’s Submarine Cable Links for Zakum Offshore Oil Field

Prysmian Group has been awarded a new contract worth approximately € 30 million ($41.4 million) by UAE-based construction company Emirates Holding on behalf of major offshore oil and gas producer ADMA-OPCO (Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company) for the design and manufacture of submarine cable links for the replacement of power feeding systems to Zakum offshore oil field, in Abu Dhabi.

The Zakum oil field is the first submarine electrification project planned by ADMA-OPCO and will be the benchmark for future projects aimed at developing and implementing a power distribution and transmission network among owned offshore oil fields, in order to increase capacity and improve reliability of their oil production facilities.

In detail, the project includes the design and supply of about 200 km of XLPE (Cross-Linked Polyethylene) insulated Medium Voltage submarine cables for the distribution of energy to oil towers and platforms, plus accessories and network components. The project will be implemented by the Group’s established offices in the UAE, using production from Pikkala (Finland) with first 70 km batch delivery in November 2014 and final delivery due by mid-2015.

The Zakum project provides further confirmation of the validity of the Group’s know-how and technologies for application both in submarine power transmission and distribution and in the Oil and Gas industry. This new project also reconfirms Prysmian’s leadership role in a strategic region like the Middle East, where the Group can rely on a number of projects completed or currently ongoing including the Barzan oil field submarine power interconnection in Qatar, the first-ever submarine power transmission link serving Doha, the GCC Saudi-Bahrain submarine interconnection and the 400 kV power transmission system for TRANSCO connecting the Bahia and Saadiyat Grid Stations in Abu Dhabi.