Nexans, a leader in advanced cabling systems, solutions and services, has completed the final test to qualify its state-of-the-art 420 kV XLPE subsea cable for installation at a world-record depth of 550 meters (1,804 ft).

A press release said that the cable testing, carried out by Nexans Norway, was done to meet a specific customer need. The cable is to be used for a project that requires a subsea power interconnector crossing Fensfjorden—a fjord close to Bergen in Norway—which is approximately eight km wide and 526 meters at its deepest point.

The Fensfjorden project is part of a broader plan by BKK Nett AS, one of Norway’s largest power companies, to strengthen the electrical grid in Western Norway. That plan includes a new 420-kV connection between Modalen-Mongstad that will ensure a stable and reliable power supply to over 420,000 residents, businesses and industry facilities throughout the region.

“We have every reason to be proud of what we have accomplished,” declared Nexans Project Manager Ivar Rolfstad. “We have pushed the technological boundaries and (beaten) our own previous world records!”

The new record tops the prior one that had been set by Nexans, for a 20-km 420 kV XLPE cable that was installed in water that was 390 meters deep in the fjord of Hjeltefjorden, Norway.

Nexans developed and produced the Fensfjorden cable at Nexans Norway facility in Halden. Installation on the bed of the fjord will be performed by a Nexans cable-laying vessel, the C/S Nexans Skagerrak, later in 2019, the release said.

Nexans reports that it has been awarded a turnkey contract worth more than 100 million euros for a submarine cable link to reinforce the national grid of the Philippines.

A press release said that the order is from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), which is looking to unify and reinforce the national grid with the launch of the Mindanao Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP). The goal is connect the three power grids of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao into one unified national grid by 2020.

The release said that Nexans will provide 350 kV high-voltage direct current (HVDC) mass-impregnated (MI) submarine cable in water depths up to 650 m for the submarine link. To optimize the delivery of the submarine cabling system for the MVIP, Nexans will leverage its global manufacturing footprint. The 350 kV submarine MI cable will be manufactured in Nexans’ Nippon High Voltage Cable Corporation plant in Futtsu, Japan, as well as in its Halden plant in Norway. The installation and protection works will be performed by Nexans’ cable laying vessel, the C/S Nexans Skagerrak.

"Nexans is delighted to once again be trusted by NGCP, building on a number of projects the Group has successfully completed in the region," said Vincent Dessale, Senior Executive Vice President Nexans Subsea and Land Systems Business Group.

Per the release, in the last 15 years, power consumption in Philippines has increased by almost 80%, with 2017 use estimated at more than 94,370 GWh

Nexans reports that it has been awarded a turnkey contract worth more than 100 million euros to reinforce the national grid of the Philippines.

A press release said that the order is from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), which is looking to unify and reinforce the national grid with the launch of the Mindanao Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP). The goal is connect the three power grids of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao into one unified national grid  by 2020.

The release said that Nexans will provide 350 kV high-voltage direct current (HVDC) mass-impregnated (MI) submarine cable in water depths up to 650 m for the submarine link. To optimize the delivery of the submarine cabling system for the MVIP, Nexans will leverage its global manufacturing footprint. The 350 kV submarine MI cable will be manufactured in Nexans’ Nippon High Voltage Cable Corporation plant in Futtsu, Japan, as well as in its Halden plant in Norway. The installation and protection works will be performed by Nexans’ cable laying vessel C/S Nexans Skagerrak.

“Nexans is delighted to once again be trusted by NGCP, building on a number of projects the Group has successfully completed in the region,” said Vincent Dessale, Senior Executive Vice President Nexans Subsea and Land Systems Business Group.
Per the release, in the last 15 years, power consumption in Philippines has increased by almost 80%, with 2017 use estimated at more than 94,370 GWh.

Nexans announced that it will provide 27 km of complex umbilicals with power, fiber-optic and hydraulic elements for the next development phase of the most prolific oil and gas field on the Norwegian continental shelf.

A press release said that Phase 3 of the Troll project covers the development of the Troll West structure, which lies in water depths of approximately 330 meters and is located 25 km north-west of the Troll A platform. The contract is from Equinor ASA, a multinational energy company based in Stavanger, Norway.

Nexans Norway will design, manufacture and supply static umbilicals that include high voltage power elements, high-pressure hydraulic lines, low-pressure hydraulic lines, a MEG (methanol and glycol) service line for chemical injection, a spare line and fiber-optic communications – all within a single cross-section. A 20-km umbilical will link the Troll A platform to Template W1, while a 7-km umbilical will then link Template W1 to Template W2. The contract also includes the supply of connections, terminations and other umbilical accessories.

Nexans offered Equinor a total “made in Norway” approach to the contract with the electrical and fiber optic elements manufactured at the Nexans Norway facility in Rognan, North Norway, while the complete umbilical system will be developed, manufactured and tested at Nexans Norway plant in Halden, Norway, the release said.

“Nexans has established an impressive track record in delivering umbilical projects for the Norwegian continental shelf and we look forward to continuing our long-standing relationship with Equinor by delivering this key contract for Troll Phase 3,” said Vincent Dessale, Nexans Senior Executive Vice President Subsea and Land Systems Business Group.

Nexans is scheduled to deliver the Troll Phase 3 umbilicals in the first quarter of 2020. First gas is expected from the project in the second quarter of 2021.

An epic Canadian project that took nearly four years of engineering, manufacturing, installation and testing has been completed, and Nexans reports that it has completed its contract to supply the longest submarine power cables in North America.

A press release said that the two 200 kV mass impregnated (MI) HVDC cables, each 170-km long and weighing approximately 5,500 tons, are part of the Maritime Link Project conducted by NSP Maritime Link Inc. (NSPML), an indirect subsidiary of Emera Inc. The 175 million euro contract also includes some 50 km of overland transmission cables in Nova Scotia and close to another 300 km cables of overland transmission on the island of Newfoundland. The cables were manufactured at Nexans’ factories in Halden, Norway, and in Futtsu, Japan.

Nexans installed the submarine cables in the Cabot Strait to a depth of approximately 470 meters, protecting them on the seabed and electrically interconnecting the provinces of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador for the first time. The final high-voltage tests were successfully conducted on the link in September 2017.

“We are thrilled to be part of this exciting project and we are happy to have completed the installation of these two submarine cables, the longest in Northern America, after almost 600,000 hours of designing, manufacturing and laying works,” said Nexans Project Manager Geir Korstad. “This success is undoubtedly the result of hard work and dedication of our highly-competent Nexans teams as well as the seamless cooperation with NSPML and our partners.”

The release described the Maritime Link Project as a new 500 MW (+/- 200 kV) HVDC interconnection that consists of converter stations and associated high-voltage alternating current (HVAC) switchyards as well as two HVDC transmission lines, a 230 kV HVAC transmission line, and associated infrastructure. The Maritime Link Project began in 2011. The project, it said, is part of efforts for Canada, which gets two-thirds of its electricity from renewable resources, to reduce its coal emissions by 50% by 2030. It will also enable Nova Scotia to meet regulations requiring 40% renewable energy by 2020.

Nexans announced that it has acquired a controlling interest in BE CableCon, a Danish company that supplies cable kits to wind turbine companies.

A press release said that the investment is part of Nexans’ strategy to reinforce the company’s portfolio of activities beyond cable manufacturing and accelerate growth in the renewable energy sector. BE CableCon designs, engineers and manufactures kits that enable wind turbine companies to simplify the installation of the power, control and communication cable systems in towers and nacelles. It offers low and medium voltage applications including connectors, pre-connected and pre-assembled cable kits and customized packing for complete ready-to-install kits.

“We have developed an excellent working relationship with BE CableCon as a subcontractor for our own kitting projects,” said Alain Robic, Nexans vice president industry solutions and projects. “Bringing them into the Nexans Group is a key step in our strategy to take greater control of critical elements within the value chain so that we can offer customers a complete engineered connection system.”
BE CableCon chief executive Klaus Moller will head the Nexans cable kit subsidiary company