SABP-P-127

Best Practice 29 July 2021
SABP-P-127
Guideline for Designing High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC)
Systems
Document Responsibility: UPS, DC Systems, and Power Electronics Standards
Committee
Previous Revision: New Next Revision: 29 July 2031

Contact: Dubaikel, Faisal A. (dubaikfa) Page 1 of 16
© Saudi Arabian Oil Company, 2021
Saudi Aramco: Company General Use

Document Responsibility: UPS, DC Systems, and Power Electronics Standards Committee SABP-P-127
Issue Date: 29 July 2021
Next Revision: 29 July 2031 Guideline for Designing High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Systems
Contents
1 SCOPE ......................................................................................................................................................... 5
2 CONFLICTS AND DEVIATIONS ...................................................................................................................... 5
3 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................ 5
3.1 SAUDI ARAMCO REFERENCES .................................................................................................................. 5
3.2 INDUSTRY CODES AND STANDARDS ........................................................................................................ 5
4 SYSTEMS DESCRIPTIONS.............................................................................................................................. 5
5 OPERATION AND CONTROL ......................................................................................................................... 6
5.1 DIRECTION OF POWER FLOW .................................................................................................................. 6
5.2 OPERATING MODES ................................................................................................................................ 6
5.3 POWER TRANSMISSION REQUIREMENTS ................................................................................................ 6
5.4 SHORT-TIME OVERLOAD REQUIREMENTS ............................................................................................... 7
5.5 DYNAMIC PERFORMANCE ....................................................................................................................... 7

5.5.1 RESPONSE TO AC BUS VOLTAGE CHANGE ................................................................................................................ 7
5.5.2 POWER VOLTAGE INSTABILITY ............................................................................................................................... 7
5.6 POLE BLOCKING ....................................................................................................................................... 8
6 FAULTS AND PROTECTION ........................................................................................................................... 8
6.1 AC FAULTS ............................................................................................................................................... 8
6.2 DC LINE FAULTS ....................................................................................................................................... 9
7 OPERATION DURING REDUCED AC VOLTAGE .............................................................................................. 9
8 OPERATION DURING TEMPORARY OVER-VOLTAGES ................................................................................. 10
9 CONTROLLED SHUTDOWN ........................................................................................................................ 10
10 DYNAMIC PERFORMANCE DEMONSTRATION ........................................................................................ 10
11 REACTIVE POWER CONTROLS ................................................................................................................ 11
12 INSULATION COORDINATION ................................................................................................................ 11
13 LIMITATION OF OVERVOLTAGE ............................................................................................................. 11
14 LIGHTNING AND STEEP-FRONT SURGES ................................................................................................. 12
© Saudi Arabian Oil Company, 2021 Page 2 of 16

14.1 OVER-VOLTAGES CONSIDERATION ........................................................................................................ 12
14.2 SELECTION OF INSULATION LEVEL ......................................................................................................... 12

14.2.1 AC SIDE EQUIPMENT ................................................................................................................................. 12
14.2.2 DC SIDE EQUIPMENT ................................................................................................................................. 13
15 INTERFERENCE COMMUNICATION AND CONTROL ................................................................................ 13
15.1 RADIO INTERFERENCE (RI) ..................................................................................................................... 14
15.2 INTERFERENCE LIMITS ........................................................................................................................... 14
16 AUDIBLE NOISE...................................................................................................................................... 15

Summary of Changes
Paragraph Number
Change Type
Current Revision (Addition, Modification, Deletion, Technical Change(s)
Previous Revision New)
N/A (29 July 2021)
New SABP - -

1 Scope
This best practice provides a guideline for designing, installation and application
of voltage source converter (VSC) based, high-voltage direct current (HVDC)
power transmission systems for offshore applications.
2 Conflicts and Deviations

If there is a conflict between this Best Practice and any Mandatory Saudi
Aramco Engineering Requirements (MSAERs), the mandatory document shall
take the precedence. Other conflicts shall be addressed in writing to the
EK&RD Coordinator.
3 References
All referenced specifications, standards, codes, drawings, and similar material
are considered part of this Best Practice to the extent specified applying latest
revisions unless stated otherwise.
3.1 Saudi Aramco References

Saudi Aramco Engineering Standards
SAES-A-105 Noise Control
SAES-P-100 Basic Power System Design Criteria
3.2 Industry Codes and Standards

International Electrotechnical Commission
IEC 60633 Terminology for High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC)
Transmission
IEC 62747 Terminology for Voltage-Sourced Converters (VSC) for
High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Systems
4 Systems Descriptions
A HVDC power transmission system should consist of, but is not limited to, AC
side transformers, converter reactors, converter stations, DC cables, DC
grounding electrodes, AC filters, DC filters, cooling systems, communication
systems, control systems, and protection systems. Al terminologies related to
HVDC and are provided in IEC 60633 and IEC 62747.

5 Operation and Control
5.1 Direction of Power Flow

The converter stations should be capable of transmitting power in both
directions without voltage reversal.
5.2 Operating Modes

All converter stations should be designed to also operate in mono-polar
operation using the metallic return cable or using the other pole conductor as a
metallic pole return mode, or both cables in parallel.
Switching between the metallic return mode and metallic pole return mode
should be performed without power interruption.
5.3 Power Transmission Requirements
The power transmission requirements should be achieved with all redundant
equipment out of service and redundant insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT)
switches bypassed.
The power transmission requirements should be met for the frequency range
specified in Table 1 throughout the entire range of ambient temperatures and at
all AC bus voltages as specified in SAES-P-100.
The power transmission requirements should be met while the converter

provides the needed reactive power support to sustain the AC voltage within the
range specified in SAES-P-100.
Any limitation on steady state or short-time power flow which may be necessary
due to abnormal AC system conditions should be implemented within the
control system.
Table 1 - Operation Frequency Range
Frequency fn (Hz) Duration (seconds)
57 ≤ fn ≤ 63 ꝏ
fn < 57 or fn > 63 20

5.4 Short-Time Overload Requirements

The short-time overload capability of the HVDC system, its duration, and the
number of times it can be applied in a 24-hour period should be clearly stated.
A curve giving the overload versus ambient temperature with and without
redundant cooling should be provided.
5.5 Dynamic Performance

The converter station should be designed to optimally coordinate all aspects of
its controls to ensure safe and reliable operation without adversely affecting the
connected AC system and should assist the latter following disturbances.
The HVDC control system shall be stable under all operating conditions and
should not excite oscillations, such as sub-synchronous oscillations, between
the HVDC and AC system.
The controller should optimize the recovery of the DC system following faults
with the objective of obtaining the fastest practical power transfer recovery with
the minimum energy loss to the receiving AC system while at the same time
maintaining the stability of the AC systems.
5.5.1 Response to AC Bus Voltage Change

The HVDC system response to sudden changes in AC bus voltages of ±5%
from nominal should be demonstrated at power transfer levels of:
• Minimum transmitted power in bipolar mode
• Rated continuous maximum power in bipolar mode
• The HVDC system should be running in its normal control mode with all
control parameters at their nominal values prior to the application of the
power order step.
5.5.2 Power Voltage Instability

Control measures should be provided to prevent AC system collapse during AC
system disturbance due to the action of the HVDC control.
A power reduction function should be adopted in the control system to avoid
such instability when the system short circuit level changes during specific
power transmission level.

5.6 Pole Blocking

The DC system should be designed such that the power transfer loss of a
faulted pole due to pole blocking and line fault clearing is transferred to the
remaining pole. The power transfer on the remaining pole should be increased
up to its rated short-time power transfer capability to compensate for the power
transfer loss on the faulted pole and to minimize AC network disturbance.
When an increase in power transfer of the healthy pole is required due to

blocking of the other pole, 90% of the increase in DC power transfer required
should be achieved within 100 milliseconds of the faulted pole blocking.
When a pole blocks while communications are not in-service, 90% of the
required DC power transfer to the other pole shoud be achieved within 100
milliseconds of the rectifier blocking.
6 Faults and Protection

6.1 AC Faults
The response of the HVDC system to the following faults should be
demonstrated:
• Single phase-to-ground, phase-to-phase, phase-to-phase-to-ground, and

three phase-to-ground faults for both 4 cycles and 15 cycles followed by
fault clearing and with fault levels resulting in voltage reduction to 90%,
70%, 50%, 30%, 20%, and 0% of nominal converter AC bus voltage.
• Zero impedance three-phase fault on the AC busbar followed by fault

clearing and results in the loss of one DC pole.
• Solid single phase-to-ground at the converter bus.
• Solid three phase-to-ground at the converter bus.
AC fault responses for the above-mentioned faults should be demonstrated for

the following operating conditions prior to the fault application:
• Bipolar operation at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of rated power transfer in
the normal power transfer mode
• Dedicated metallic return operation at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of rated
power transfer in the normal power transfer mode
• Pole metallic return operation at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of rated power
transfer in the normal power transfer mode

The HVDC system should recover to 90% of the pre-fault power transfer level
consistently within 150 milliseconds from the instant of fault clearing without any
subsequent oscillations.
The post-fault power order should be equal to the pre-fault power order unless
AC/DC systems dictate otherwise.
The converter equipment should be designed such that no delay is required

between the clearance of the fault and the start of transmission.
The control equipment should be provided with the facility to adjust the delay
between fault clearance and the start of recovery and the rate of recovery.
The selectable range of settings should be discussed during the engineering
studies.
6.2 DC Line Faults

The DC line fault protection should detect the fault, de-energize the faulted line
pole by control action, allow a time for fault deionization, and then automatically
attempt restoration of the DC power transfer on the pole.
The total time to restore the power to 90% of the pre-fault power from the end of
the deionization period shall not exceed 100 milliseconds.
Faults should be applied at the line ends and at the line midpoint for each line
segment between the converter stations. The demonstration should include the
influence of the function provided to transfer power from the faulted pole to the
other pole.
The clearing and recovery of DC line pole fault should be demonstrated for the
following system configurations with a pre-fault power transfer set at 100% for
the specific modes:
• Bipolar
• Dedicated metallic return
• Pole used as metallic return
• Dedicated metallic return in parallel with one pole used as metallic return
7 Operation during Reduced AC Voltage

The HVDC system should continue operating without blocking of converters
with AC bus voltage reduced to 30% of nominal during three-phase faults, and
to zero on one phase during single line to ground faults, for a period of 1
second followed by voltage recovery to 85%. The converters should continue

to transmit power to the extent possible under the above reduced voltage
conditions.
8 Operation during Temporary Over-Voltages

The converter should be capable of continuing to operate under the highest
temporary overvoltage conditions (which could occur with the valves
deblocked). The valves should be capable of deblocking under the highest
temporary over-voltage conditions within five cycles of the initiation of a fault or
disturbance.
9 Controlled Shutdown
Each pole should be able to be shut down in a controlled manner by the
automatic reduction in the power order. The shutdown sequence and timing
should not negatively impact the AC systems.
10 Dynamic Performance Demonstration

A detailed dynamic performance study of the DC system and all its control and
protection functions should be carried out using detailed manufacturer’s models
in the design stage but before the design is finalized.
The performance study should include but not be limited to the following types
of studies:
• Performance of DC system controllers in response to power and current

order changes.
• Performance of the DC system for various rectifier and inverter AC system

faults. The performance of the DC system should be demonstrated both
during the fault and after fault clearing.
• Performance of the DC system for each protection operation, including DC

line protection and station protections. The fault cases should be selected
to demonstrate clearly coordination of protections, transient current and
voltage characteristics, fault clearing control action, and protection-initiated
fault isolation sequences.
• Performance of DC system during steady-state conditions for all specified

DC operating modes and configurations, including operation of the DC
converter transformer tap changer controls and control mode switchover.
• Performance during pole start-up and shut-down sequences during two and
multi-terminal operation.

• Performance of the supplementary DC controls.
• Performance of the DC controls in the presence of a low order harmonic

resonance between the AC filters (if any) and the AC systems with the
system negative sequence at the maximum value for HVDC rating.
Performance of the actual control hardware and software should be

demonstrated during factory system testing of the complete control and
protection systems using a Real-Time-Digital-Simulator (RTDS) platform.
The HVDC system control should be designed such that the specified
performance is met with the communication system in service and for a
maximum communication system delay. The studies should also address
performance when the communication system is out of service.
11 Reactive Power Controls

Reactive compensation and voltage control studies shall be performed and
shall demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the proponent, that the equipment
meets the voltage performance requirements as specified in SAES-P-100. The
calculations of reactive power interchange and of voltage control should be
based on the most unfavorable combination of tolerances on equipment,
connected system configuration and of changes in operating conditions.
The performance of the dynamic reactive compensation device should be such

that it enables the HVDC link to meet the specified performance requirements
and provide suitable mitigation of potential over-voltages and under-voltages
with all redundant components (power electronics and cooling plant, in
particular) out of service.
The reactive power controls should, to the extent possible, minimize operation
of the on-load tap-changers for the converter transformers.
12 Insulation Coordination
Insulation coordination studies should be carried out to establish the required
insulation level for supplied equipment and determine the clearances between
energized parts and between energized parts and ground.
Surge arresters, surge capacitors, and other devices should be provided as

required to protect all the equipment supplied with the DC system.
13 Limitation of Overvoltage
Blocking of the converter valves to protect them and other DC side equipment
from sustained over-voltages appearing on the AC system should not be
permitted. The converter station equipment should be adequately rated to allow

deblocking under the maximum allowed over-voltage conditions including the

dynamic over-voltage and any ferro-resonant over-voltages that may be
present.
The use of converter valve group controls to limit temporary (dynamic) over-
voltages shall be permitted providing that the valves and other converter
equipment are adequately rated and that such action does not restrict the
power transfer capability of the HVDC system during or after the event.
14 Lightning and Steep-Front Surges
14.1 Over-Voltages Consideration

The following lightning and steep front over-voltages resulting from lightning
and faults on the AC and DC systems, should be considered:
• Lightning surges due to both direct strikes and back flashover on the DC line
or any of the AC lines connected to the converter stations
• Lightning surges due to direct strikes within the converter stations in the
event of shielding failures
• Steep-fronted surges, especially those resulting from flashover or faults

occurring within the valve hall or to earth from the valve windings of the
converter transformers
14.2 Selection of Insulation Level

The Front of Wave Withstand Level (FWWL), Lightning Impulse Withstand
Level (LIWL), and Switching Impulse Withstand Level (SIWL) withstand levels
shall be determined from the protective levels afforded by the surge arresters in
the location being considered. The protective levels and withstand levels should
be as follows:
14.2.1 AC Side Equipment

All equipment connected to the AC bus, including insulators and air clearances
should have:
• SIWL is at least 1.15 times the switching impulse protective level;
• LIWL is at least 1.25 times the lightning impulse protective level;
• FWWL which is at least 1.25 times the front of wave protective level.

Oil Insulated Equipment: For all equipment with oil insulation and with arresters
connected within 5 meters of the terminals, the LIWL shall be an IEC standard
value. This value should not, for the internal insulation, be less than:
• 1.15 times the switching impulse protective level
• 1.20 times the lightning impulse protective level
• The FWWL should not be less than 1.20 times the front of wave protective
level.
14.2.2 DC Side Equipment

The DC side air clearances, insulators, equipment, DC filter components,
should have:
• SIWL at least 1.20 times the switching impulse protective level.
• LIWL at least 1.25 times the lightning impulse protective level.
• FWWL at least 1.25 time the front of wave protective level.
15 Interference Communication and Control

All necessary precautions should be taken to ensure that there no malfunction,
damage or danger to any equipment, system, or personnel due to
electromagnetic or electrostatic interference effects.
The converter terminal shall neither damage nor cause malfunction of the DC
control and protection system or the communication system.
All necessary precautions should be taken in the form of noise suppression

techniques, shielding and filtering devices to prevent harmful interference which
may be generated by the converter terminal to the following systems over the
specified frequency ranges:
• Power line carrier (PLC) 40.0 kHz to 500 kHz
• Radio communication systems 0.15 MHz to 300 MHz
• Television systems 30.0 MHz to 1,000 MHz
• VHF, UHF & microwave radio systems 100 MHz to 8,500 MHz

15.1 Radio Interference (RI)

The radio interference level (RIL) generated by the converter station should not
exceed:
• 100 microvolts/meter under fair weather conditions at any point outside the
station fence, and 500 meters from the nearest bus connecting the valve to
the converter transformers within the station
• 30 meters from the conductors of any outgoing AC line, HVDC line, and
electrode line
This RIL criterion should be achieved at all frequencies within the range of 150
kHz to 1,000 MHz.
Measurements should be made with the AC switchyard and AC transmission

lines energized and the HVDC system in operation.
Measurements should be made at a quasi-peak setting and shall include at

least three complete frequency scans at each selected location. The RIL at a
specific frequency and location should be the average value of all
measurements taken at that frequency and location.
The measuring procedure should be submitted to the proponent organization

for approval prior to measurements being made, and a final report should be
submitted after completion of all measurements.
All precautions should be taken to suppress noise, such as shielding and

filtering devices to prevent harmful interference from the converter station to
any of the control systems and other communication systems such as
microwave or HF, VHF, and UHF radio systems installed.
15.2 Interference Limits

No worse than 1.5dB decrease in signal-to-noise ratio in the microwave
communication system for any voice channel, voice channel slot or group
channel slot in the microwave radio system.
No measurable Degradation in data circuit bit error rate or telephone circuit

signaling on any circuit in the microwave communication system
No worse than 3dB decrease in signal-to-noise ratio measured at voice

frequency on the UHF or VHF radio systems.

16 Audible Noise
The audible noise should comply with Saudi Aramco Engineering Standard
SAES-A-105. The audible noise shall be limited for the overall station and the
various areas of the converter station buildings to the levels indicated in Table 2
for all operating conditions.
Table 2 - Audible Noise Levels
Valve hall (in places where access is permitted during normal

< 90 dBa
operation)
Mechanical equipment indoor areas (measured at 2-meter

< 75 dBa
distance)
Equipment in outdoor areas (measured at 15-meter distance)

except as noted below for maximum noise level at the property < 75 dBa
boundary.
Compressor areas (measured at 2-meter distance) < 90 dBa
At the substation property boundary < 40 dBa
Noise surveys should include both daytime and nighttime measurements.
Noise reports should note the date, time and weather condition for each time a
set of measurements are taken at the site.
Sources of noise contamination (e.g., adverse weather conditions, other noise

sources) should be avoided.

Document History
18 December 2016 New Saudi Aramco Engineering Standard developed as HVDC technology was
presented as a solution for offshore power supply reliability. Justifications
include:
1- Problems with powering offshore platforms with long AC cables.
2- HVDC provides a mitigation solution for power delivery reliability and voltage
regulation problems.
3- HVDC provides redundancy and scalability through its modular design.
4- The HVDC technology is recommended for immediate use to power Zuluf
platform and provide backup to Safaniya and Marjan fields.
10 October 2019 Editorial revision to:

• Change the revision cycle from three years (18 December 2019) to five years
18 December 2021)
• Modify section 2 “Conflicts and Deviations” to comply with SAEP-30
Paragraph 5.5.1
• Reflect document’s references in the proper section(s) / paragraph (s) to
comply with SAEP-301 Paragraph 5.6.2.
29 July 2021 Conversion of the Saudi Aramco Engineering Standard SAES-P-127 to be a Saudi
Aramco's Best Practice (SABP-P127).

SABP-P-127

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Best Practice 29 July 2021

Previous Revision: New Next Revision: 29 July 2031

Saudi Aramco: Company General Use

2 CONFLICTS AND DEVIATIONS ...................................................................................................................... 5

3.1 SAUDI ARAMCO REFERENCES .................................................................................................................. 5

3.2 INDUSTRY CODES AND STANDARDS ........................................................................................................ 5

5 OPERATION AND CONTROL ......................................................................................................................... 6

5.1 DIRECTION OF POWER FLOW .................................................................................................................. 6

5.2 OPERATING MODES ................................................................................................................................ 6

5.3 POWER TRANSMISSION REQUIREMENTS ................................................................................................ 6

5.4 SHORT-TIME OVERLOAD REQUIREMENTS ............................................................................................... 7

5.5 DYNAMIC PERFORMANCE ....................................................................................................................... 7

6 FAULTS AND PROTECTION ........................................................................................................................... 8

6.1 AC FAULTS ............................................................................................................................................... 8

6.2 DC LINE FAULTS ....................................................................................................................................... 9

7 OPERATION DURING REDUCED AC VOLTAGE .............................................................................................. 9

8 OPERATION DURING TEMPORARY OVER-VOLTAGES ................................................................................. 10

9 CONTROLLED SHUTDOWN ........................................................................................................................ 10

10 DYNAMIC PERFORMANCE DEMONSTRATION ........................................................................................ 10

11 REACTIVE POWER CONTROLS ................................................................................................................ 11

12 INSULATION COORDINATION ................................................................................................................ 11

13 LIMITATION OF OVERVOLTAGE ............................................................................................................. 11

14 LIGHTNING AND STEEP-FRONT SURGES ................................................................................................. 12

© Saudi Arabian Oil Company, 2021 Page 2 of 16

Saudi Aramco: Company General Use

14.1 OVER-VOLTAGES CONSIDERATION ........................................................................................................ 12

14.2 SELECTION OF INSULATION LEVEL ......................................................................................................... 12

15.1 RADIO INTERFERENCE (RI) ..................................................................................................................... 14

15.2 INTERFERENCE LIMITS ........................................................................................................................... 14

© Saudi Arabian Oil Company, 2021 Page 3 of 16

Saudi Aramco: Company General Use

© Saudi Arabian Oil Company, 2021 Page 4 of 16

Saudi Aramco: Company General Use

2 Conflicts and Deviations

3.1 Saudi Aramco References

3.2 Industry Codes and Standards

© Saudi Arabian Oil Company, 2021 Page 5 of 16

Saudi Aramco: Company General Use

5 Operation and Control

5.1 Direction of Power Flow

5.2 Operating Modes

The power transmission requirements should be met while the converter

Table 1 - Operation Frequency Range

Frequency fn (Hz) Duration (seconds)

© Saudi Arabian Oil Company, 2021 Page 6 of 16

Saudi Aramco: Company General Use

5.4 Short-Time Overload Requirements

5.5 Dynamic Performance

5.5.1 Response to AC Bus Voltage Change

• Minimum transmitted power in bipolar mode

• Rated continuous maximum power in bipolar mode

5.5.2 Power Voltage Instability

© Saudi Arabian Oil Company, 2021 Page 7 of 16

Saudi Aramco: Company General Use

5.6 Pole Blocking

When an increase in power transfer of the healthy pole is required due to

6 Faults and Protection

• Single phase-to-ground, phase-to-phase, phase-to-phase-to-ground, and

• Zero impedance three-phase fault on the AC busbar followed by fault