The influence of offshore and shipboard cables standardization on platform construction guidelines and local market

In 1992 the Brazilian state owned oil & gas company established standards for offshore electrical cables. After some years, these documents became outdated and didn't comply with international standards. Then the company decided to cancel these internal documents and use international standards in order to specify these materials. Moreover, in order to minimize its expenses, the company decided to use off the shelf and less customized equipment in its projects. Therefore in 2009 the company decided to create standard technical specifications according to international standards of offshore cables, including IEC 61892-4 [2]. This IEC standard was unknown to the technicians and engineers of the company and the local market. Further, these new standard specifications considered new cable construction technologies (e.g. Mud resistant cables). The paper objectives are to disseminate this learning and share the knowledge gained through the research of international standards and technical consultations to manufacturers. It is expected that those actions will reduce the purchasing costs of offshore electrical cables. This study resulted in the update of the offshore units construction guidelines.