MAN Diesel & Turbo in Zurich was awarded a contract for a HOFIM compressor (High-Speed, Oil-Free, Integrated Motor). This is the company’s first hermetically-sealed compressor being installed on an offshore production platform.
It will be installed on the Ivar Aasen platform in the North Sea, which is run by Det norske oljeselskap ASA.
HOFIM Compressor
The most significant aspects of the HOFIM compressor are the use of a high-speed motor and active magnetic bearings. There is no need for dynamic seals, which makes the compressor system hermetically sealed. The absence of the dry gas seal system and of the complete oil system reduces the complexity and this leads to the improved system reliability.
The required footprint significantly shrinks by sixty per cent and weight on the compressor installation drops by thirty per cent in mass compared to traditional compressor designs.
Ivar Aasen Order
The order for Ivar Aasen comprises a multi-stage radial compressor (1×100 per cent) arranged in tandem configuration around a centrally positioned 9.5 MW high-speed electrical motor. The compressor will export the produced gas from the platform to shore.
The integrated active magnetic bearings are provided by MECOS, a company acquired by MAN Diesel & Turbo early 2012.
The complete HOFIM unit will be delivered to the module packager SMOE Pte Ltd. in Singapore, which is building the Ivar Aasen platform. In 2016 the module will be sailed away to the final site of operation in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.
