World’s Largest Cable-Laying Ship Begins Operations in Adnoc and Taqa Project

The world’s largest and most advanced cable-laying vessel has begun its work on the strategic project for ADNOC and TAQA, to supply environmentally friendly power to ADNOC’s offshore oilfields, contributing to a reduction in carbon emissions.

The project, which is the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa region, aims to develop and operate a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) power transmission system under the sea to provide clean and more efficient power to ADNOC’s offshore operations by connecting them to Abu Dhabi’s onshore electricity network operated by TRANSCO, a subsidiary of TAQA.

The project requires around 1000 kilometers of high-voltage DC cables, including optical fibers, with a total installed capacity of 3.2 gigawatts, and includes two subsea linkages and independent HVDC converter stations.

The cable laying vessel, Leonardo da Vinci, owned by Prysmian Group, arrived in the UAE from Europe to start its work in the project, covering a preliminary period of four months in the maritime area between the port on the western coast of Abu Dhabi and the Upper Zakum and Lower Zakum offshore fields, equivalent to the distance between Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

The vessel will first lay a cable route underwater along a distance of 134 kilometers, and then start laying cables along a second route that stretches 141 kilometers. The commercial operation of the project is expected to begin in 2025, with an expected contribution of up to 50% reduction in carbon footprint for ADNOC’s offshore operations. More than 50% of the project’s total value will be redirected to the local economy through ADNOC’s program to enhance local added value.

The project was announced in December 2021 and is funded through a joint venture company owned equally by ADNOC and TAQA, along with a consortium consisting of South Korea’s KEPCO, Japan’s Kyushu Electric Power, and France’s EDF, with 40% ownership each, through a build-own-operate-transfer ownership structure.

ADNOC became the first energy company in January 2022 to meet all its electricity needs from a grid that is produced by clean solar and nuclear energy, through a strategic partnership with the UAE’s Water and Electricity Company, resulting in a reduction of 4 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2022.

ADNOC continues to accelerate its efforts to reduce emissions, increasing its investment in low-carbon emission reduction projects, solutions, and technologies to reach a total of 84.4 billion dirhams ($23 billion) to achieve its climate neutrality goal by 2045.

It is worth mentioning that TAQA has been pursuing several high-voltage direct current projects since December 2021, in line with the company’s new growth ambitions for 2030 in transportation and distribution operations.