Jan De Nul making headway on landmark $3.8B Middle Eastern interconnection project

Jan De Nul is progressing on a significant $3.8 billion Middle Eastern interconnection project, having finished installing a section of cables for the groundbreaking HVDC submarine cable initiative. This project, the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, will link ADNOC’s offshore operations to TAQA’s clean onshore power grid. The Lightning project, financially closed by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC (TAQA) in September 2022, is slated for completion in 2025. The primary goal of the HVDC connection is to transition ADNOC’s offshore production operations to green onshore power, reducing environmental impact and CO2 emissions while aiding in the decarbonization of offshore production activities. With a massive 3.2 GW capacity, the Lighting project will be MENA’s most potent power-from-shore solution and the first HVDC power-from-shore initiative outside of Norway. Jan De Nul, under the most extensive cable installation contract in its history, is responsible for designing, installing, burying, and safeguarding two cable clusters spanning nearly 1,000 kilometers of submarine cables between the Al Ghallan and Das islands in the Arabian Gulf and the onshore converter stations at Al Mirfa and Shuweihat in Abu Dhabi for renewable power transmission. In its 2024 financial report, Jan De Nul disclosed the installation of three 140-kilometer cables, some of which were buried on the seafloor and others covered with rocks for protection. The company also mentioned laying 23 pipelines on Al Ghallan island to facilitate the cable’s pull onto land. A consortium consisting of Korea Electric Power (KEPCO), Kyushu Electric Power Company (Kyuden), and Électricité de France (EDF) is constructing, owning, operating, and transferring the transmission system alongside ADNOC and TAQA, with the project reverting to ADNOC after 35 years. Hitachi Energy is supplying four converter stations for the two HVDC links between Mirfa and Al Ghallan and between Shuweihat and Das.