Saft wins major contract for battery systems to protect a new gas pipeline between Algeria and Tunisia

• Spie Oil & Gas Services has selected Saft's Sunica.plus batteries to operate in conjunction with solar panels to power pipeline cathodic protection systems.
• The system will protect 1,650 km of pipeline that transports gas from the Hassi R'Mel field in Algeria to Qued Saf-Saf on the Tunisian border.

Paris, September 18, 2018

Saft has been awarded a contract by Spie Oil & Gas Services, one of Europe's leading multi-technical service providers in the energy sector, to provide nickel-technology batteries to power corrosion protection systems on the Hassi R’Mel gas field pipeline.

The Saft batteries will be installed at 34 stations along the pipeline where they will store energy from solar panels to keep the cathodic protection systems operating for up to five days.

Frédéric Belougne, Project Manager at Spie Oil & Gas services, says: "Thousands of Sunica.plus batteries are already installed at remote locations across the globe that rely on solar power, notably in the Middle East where Saft’s nickel-technology has forged a reputation as a reliable, long-lasting solution. Spie Oil & Gas services chose Sunica.plus batteries for this particular project for their excellent cycling capacity and suitability for remote facilities where regular maintenance procedures often prove to be both arduous and costly".

The Hassi R'Mel gas field is located around 550 km south of Algiers in the Sahara Desert. Discovered by the French Oil Company in Algeria in 1956, this gas field currently represents a quarter of the country's total gas output.

The Saft batteries will provide each of the 34 stations along the Hassi R'Mel pipeline with some 100 Watts of power. This will support the corrosion protection systems across the 1,650-km pipeline, which stretches from the Hassi R'Mel gas field in Algeria to the Qued Saf-Saf on the Tunisian border. The pipeline then feeds into Transmed’s supply link between Tunisia and Italy to provide Europe with gas.

During the daytime, the solar photovoltaic panels used in conjunction with the Sunica.plus batteries will provide a constant supply of electricity for the SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) and cathodic protection systems. The solar panels will also charge the Saft batteries and they will be discharged to maintain a continuous supply of electricity during the night.

Saft manufactures Sunica.plus batteries in Oskarshamn, Sweden.

About Saft 

Saft specializes in advanced technology battery solutions for industry, from the design and development to the production, customization and service provision. For 100 years, Saft’s longer-lasting batteries and systems have provided critical safety applications, back-up power and propulsion for our customers. Our innovative, safe and reliable technology delivers high performance on land, at sea, in the air and in space. Saft is powering industry and smarter cities, while providing critical back-up functionality in remote and harsh environments from the Arctic Circle to the Sahara Desert. Saft is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Total, a leading international oil and gas company and a major player in low-carbon energies.

We energize the world.  www.saftbatteries.com

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Press Contacts:

Saft
Karen Hollington, Group External Communications Manager
Tel.: +33 1 58 63 16 60, e-mail: karen.hollington@saftbatteries.com

Dominique le Baron, Industrial Standby Communication Manager
Tel.: +33 1 58 63 16 73, e-mail:  dominique.lebaron@saftbatteries.com

Topline
Andrew Bartlett, Tel.: +44 207 580 6502, e-mail: andrew@toplinecomms.com

Clapp Communications
Lisa Harlow, Tel.: +1-410-561-8886, e-mail: lisa@clappcommunications.com