HSM Offshore, a Dutch metal construction company, has been awarded a contract to build the first electrified ONE-Dyas N05-A gas production platform in the North Sea. The facility will be powered entirely by offshore wind power.
The N05-A project is located in the GEMS area, which is approximately 20 to 80 kilometers north of the Ems estuary. ONE-Dyas, in collaboration with Hansa Hydrocarbons and EBN, intends to extract natural gas from the N05-A field and surrounding fields in the German and Dutch North Sea.
According to HSM Offshore, the N05-A platform will run entirely on renewable energy. Consequently, the energy will be sourced from the nearby Riffgat offshore wind farm in the German North Sea. Thus, it will help reduce emissions to near zero. HSM has already begun fabrication of the platform at its Schiedam yard.
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The N05-A platform benefits in the green economy
Natural gas production facilities linked to offshore wind farms are said to provide a sustainable energy solution. According to HSM Offshore, locally produced natural gas has a 30% lower carbon footprint than imported natural gas. Thus, it increases the security of the local energy supply and contributes to the local economy. ONE-Dyas hopes to have delivered the first natural gas from the N05-A platform by the end of 2024. It will be delivered to Dutch and German households.
The N05-A platform will not be the first in the North Sea to run on wind energy. However, it will be the first to do so entirely. This is because the Hywind Tampen floating wind farm will cover 35 percent of the annual power needs on the five platforms in the two fields.
EWE built the Riffgat offshore wind farm in 2013. It is the first commercially operated wind farm in the German North Sea. The 113.4 MW wind farm consists of 30 Siemens SWT-3.6-120 wind turbines. They have installed 15 kilometers northwest of the German island of Borkum.
