Subsea electrification has been a recurring industry theme for more than 20 years, but adoption has been limited. Recently, there has been renewed interest in this concept, driven mainly by a reaction to cost pressures in the industry and an increased acceptance of enabling technologies for subsea electrification including electric actuation. One reason for the limited adoption has been that only standalone parts of the system have been qualified, meaning that not all benefits of a fully electric system can be reached. Another reason is conservatism in the industry and concern that an all-electric system will not have the same safety and reliability as a conventional electro-hydraulic system.

BHGE will present our systems approach to the all-electric development, ensuring all aspects are covered. Safety and reliability are key focus areas in the development. Important design decisions around the functional safety approach, fail-safe mechanisms and retrievability have been made early in the project to ensure the all-electric system maintains all aspects of safety and reliability that are expected from a conventional system. In addition, all-electric systems use more advanced monitoring and digital tools that further improve the reliability and integrity of the system.