4/1/2022 -  Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., has received a preliminary order worth US$200 million, from Samsung C&T Corporation, for an HVDC cable that the company said will represent a first in the Middle East.

A press release said that the preliminary order for the submarine HVDC network is from Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) in the UAE. It calls for the company to provide its 400 kV DC cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) cable for a route that is approximately 140 km. The initial engineering work will be started, followed by a full contract award and financial investment decision in 2022. The system is expected to be in operation in 2025.

The project, part of the Project Lightning, a new submarine HVDC network for ADNOC, will allow bulk-power energy transmission between the converter station in Al Mirfa, in Abu Dhabi mainland, and on the Al Ghallan artificial offshore island. The EPC consortium of Samsung C&T and Jan de Nul received the order from a joint venture of Korea Electric Power Corporation, Kyushu Electric Power Transmission and Distribution Co., Kyuden International Corporation, and Électricité de France S.A.

“It is a great honor for us to be selected as an HVDC cable supplier for this important project for UAE,” said Sumitomo Electric Managing Executive Officer Yasuyuki Shibata.