Exploring Bess Services for Transformer Energization on Offshore Oil and Gas Platforms

The electrification of offshore oil and gas platforms (OOGPs), using offshore wind turbines, is now a reality, aimed at minimizing carbon emissions. In this scenario, the utilization of battery energy storage systems (BESS) improves both efficiency and power quality. As this integration comes with a high CAPEX, industries demand exploring BESS for multiple ancillary services on OOGPs. Thus, this paper proposes an alternative approach to energizing a power transformer (PT) using the BESS power conversion system (PCS) on the platform, aiming to minimize inrush currents. This avoids the necessity for additional bulky devices, converters, or dc voltage sources specifically designated for this purpose. The strategy consists of manipulating residual core flux using BESS PCS followed by a controlled switching, which reduces inrush currents during PT energization. The results show effective reduction of the inrush current from 2.31 pu to 0.16 pu for the presented case study.