ABB won a US$70 million contract to supply an offshore power transmission system and a $US160 million contract to design, build and install a compression module for Statoil's Troll A gas platform in the North Sea.

The contracts are part of Statoil's long-term program to expand compression capacity on the Troll A gas platform.

ABB said its High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Light power transmission system will eliminate emissions from the platform and at the connected onshore plant.

"Installing the new compression module is necessary to maintain the gas export pressure and the daily processing capacity on Troll A," ABB said. "The compression module will boost current daily processing capacity on Troll A from 85 million cubic metres to more than 100 million cubic metres."

Additional compressors are required in future phases when the wellhead pressure decreases further, ABB added.

ABB said compared to conventional systems, HVDC Light saves weight and reduces the space the system takes up on the platform.

"Two 40-megawatt high-voltage ABB Motorformers will drive the compressor units on the platform, with associated utilities, and will run on electricity transmitted from land," the company said. "This configuration ensures there are no environmentally harmful emissions from the platform, or from the land-based gas treatment plant at Kollsnes, north of Bergen."

According to the terms of the contract, the work includes engineering, procurement, construction and installation offshore of a 4000-ton module. The work will start immediately and should be completed by October 2005, when the offshore installation period ends.

In May ABB signed a $US330 million contract with Statoil for maintenance and modification of six offshore oil and gas platforms in the North Sea, as well as the onshore Kollsnes processing plant.