Nexans has been awarded a 104 million Euro contract by Statnett, Norway’s state-owned power grid, to design, manufacture and install the new Oslofjord II submarine high-voltage power link to replace the existing cables installed over 30 years ago that have now reached the end of their service-life. The new Nexans cables will help increase transmission capacity to almost 3,000 MVA, as well as ensuring a high level of continuity and reliability for a power link that plays a vital role both in Norway’s transmission grid and in facilitating the transmission of power between Norway and Sweden.

The Oslofjord II link, to be installed over a 13 km route across the sea channel (fjord), will consist of 3 x 420 kV XLPE submarine power cables and 6 x 420 kV paper insulated submarine cables. The XLPE installation will be the largest (longest and most extensive) of its kind in the world, beating the previous length of 2.4 km established by Nexans in the Ormen Lange project.

Nexans will deliver a total of 117 km of 420-kV submarine cable in 9 lengths, including end terminations. Each cable will be 13 km long. The cables are to be manufactured at Nexans’ plants in Norway and Japan and will be installed at a water depth of 200 to 250 meters by Nexans’ own vessel, the C/S Nexans Skagerrak, working in combination with other vessels. The first section of the installation will be completed in 2011, with the final delivery taking place during August 2012.

“Oslofjord II is a very important project for us in the Norwegian market. We have worked with Statnett on numerous occasions and are both proud and pleased that they have placed their trust in us once again”, says Krister Granlie, Nexans Managing Director Umbilicals & Submarine High Voltage Business Group.

The existing Oslofjord cables, based on an oil-filled design, were manufactured and installed by Nexans in a series of projects between 1959 and 1980.