Global Offshore to Provide Complete Cable Care Service to Equinor Wind Farms
Global Offshore, a leading provider of cable installation, repair and trenching services to the offshore renewables, utilities and oil & gas markets, and part of the Global Marine Group, announced a multi-year cable maintenance and management framework agreement with Equinor.
The framework agreement will see primary contractor, Global Offshore, supply cable management services and perform associated call off services, comprising of active cable maintenance as well as unplanned repairs. The agreement gives Equinor access to Global Marine Group’s fleet of cable ships and CTVs, including their versatile cable laying ships, Global Symphony and Normand Clipper, equipped with one of Global Offshore’s Q1400 jet trenchers.
A first for Global Offshore, which traditionally carries out work on offshore cables, the framework agreement covers the onshore and offshore export cables at Equinor’s Dudgeon wind farm, as well as the offshore export cables at Hywind and Sheringham Shoal, with the potential to cover other wind farms in the future. The framework agreement is the latest in a long list of contracts for Global Offshore’s Complete Cable Care service.
The Complete Cable Care solution is designed to proactively maintain cable assets and respond quickly to power cable damage, bringing increased standards of readiness and responsiveness to the industry. The service is supported by a maintained stock of universal power joints, as well as access to qualified jointers, prepared to respond rapidly to a fault or incident.
Director of Power Cable Maintenance at Global Offshore, Andrew Lloyd, said, “We have been providing an unsurpassed cable care service to the offshore renewables industry since the very first European wind farm installation 20 years ago. In the present day, we manage multiple framework agreements, covering over 2,500km of subsea power cable as part of our Complete Cable Care solution, utilising pre-engineered scenario plans alongside access to the right cable spares, joints, jointers and assets, to support our clients’ operations.”
Lloyd continued, “Though our first to include the maintenance of onshore cables, our framework agreement with Equinor is one of many Complete Cable Care contracts we have in place with OFTOs and wind farm owners across the globe. Being chosen as Equinor’s primary contractor further cements our position as the number one cable care provider in the industry.”
The framework agreement will mark the second contract for Global Offshore at Equinor’s Hywind offshore wind farm. In Autumn 2017, Global Marine Group carried out the survey and trenching activities, involving cutting and jetting techniques, of the subsea export and four inter-array cables at the Hywind Scotland Pilot Park, a five turbine, 30MW floating wind farm, located 25-30 km off Peterhead, North-East Scotland.
