For Maersk, a major concern when extracting gas in the Culzean field is to ensure the safety of onboard personnel. For this, they need enhanced fire-resistant cables.
The Culzean is the largest North Sea gas project in a quarter of a century, it supplies 5 per cent of the UK’s gas needs at peak production.
Their cables must function not only during a fire but also in case these are submerged underwater. However, standard electric cable assessment only included tests for fire and shock.
Maersk needed to test for water submersion, which was not available in the referenced IEC international standard.
Together with a trusted partner manufacturer who specialises in offshore and marine cables, we delivered a proposal to both the owners and the third-party certifying body DNV-GL. We recommended adding two tests from different international standard procedures.
The cable design was approved by Maersk and incorporated across the Culzean development.