Page 86 - Oil and Gas Production Handbook An Introduction to Oil and Gas Production

6.3 Power generation, distribution and drives

Power can be provided from mains power
or from local gas turbines or diesel
generator sets. Large facilities have high
power demands, from 30 MW and
upwards to several hundred MW. There is
a tendency to generate electric power
centrally and use electric drives for large
equipment rather than multiple gas
turbines, as this decreases maintenance
and increases uptime.

The power generation system on a large
facility is usually several gas turbines
diving electric generators, 20-40 MW
each. If exhaust heat is not needed in the
main process, it can be used to drive exhaust steam turbines (dual cycle) for
additional efficiency.

Voltage levels for high, medium and low voltage distribution boards are 13-
130kV, 2-8 kV and 300-600 V respectively. Power is generated and

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