In recent years higher energy requirements have been required by subsea production systems and consequently new subsea power components have been developed or their operating envelope has increased. The newness and complexity of high voltage subsea power component design and installation has led to the need for international standards to be created. The main benefits of developing these standards are to reduce costs and increase reliability.

The SEPS JIP was initiated in 2010 with an aim to standardise the design, testing and qualification requirements of subsea power equipment. The JIP currently consists of seven major operators:

• Statoil
• Shell
• Chevron
• Total
• ExxonMobil
• Petrobras
• Woodside