Feasibility Study of Superconducting Cable Application to Oil/Gas Power Supply Network

In this paper, the static and dynamic behaviors of a power system feeding an oil/gas plant with superconducting (SC) cables are investigated. SC cables have been expected to provide more efficient power supply and less space utilization for power systems compared to conventional cables. On the other hand, their compatibility with the existing power systems has not yet been clarified. In this paper, taking a typical distribution system in an oil/gas plant as an example, we designed high-voltage SC cables and investigated their compatibility with the system from the viewpoint of static and dynamic performances. The voltage distribution under steady-state operation and the transient voltage and current during fault conditions were examined and compared with the case of conventional cables. The results show that, in addition to the efficiency enhancement, SC cables could be applied without any further constraint on circuit breaker duties and insulation coordination requirements.