BP Restores Power At Thunder Horse Platform After Outage

BP has restored power at its Thunder Horse platform in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, according to a statement to Reuters on Sept. 20. The platform lost power due to an electrical outage on Sept. 18.

The company said it was redeploying staff to the platform. The company evacuated its workforce of about 300 people from the facility after the power outage as a precaution, according to an earlier statement. Technical and essential personnel were scheduled to return to the platform on Sept. 19.The platform has the ability to produce up to 265,000 bbl/d, but was producing about 180,000 bbl/d as of May.

BP’s four operated platforms in the GoM can produce up to a total of 695,000 bbl/d. Thunder Horse was the company’s largest producing GoM platform in 2016.

The platform was recently evacuated Sept. 6 ahead of Hurricane Irma. There is no permanent structural damage at the facility, according to a person familiar with the platform who was not authorized to speak with the media.

Hurricane Reaches FID For Lancaster, Awards Contracts

Hurricane Energy said it has reached a final investment decision on development of the Lancaster Early Production System (EPS), which remains on scheduled for first oil in first-half 2019.

“Successful completion of the fundraising allowed the company to move ahead with the upgrade of the FPSO, fabrication of the buoy, and procurement of the subsea components for installation work to begin next summer,” Hurricane Energy CEO Robert Trice said.

He added “the Lancaster EPS is not only an essential step in planning for the full field development of the company's Rona Ridge assets, but also represents a substantial development in its own right, with planned production of 17,000 barrels of oil per day.”

In its latest operational update, Hurricane said the company and key contractors have proceeded with procurement, fabrication and contracting activities related to the EPS. The FPSO Aoka Mizu contract has been awarded to Bluewater Energy Services. The vessel is on tow to Dubai, where it will undergo upgrades. Work has begun on the mooring buoy.

In addition, a contract for the Paul B. Loyd Jr. semisubmersible has been awarded to Transocean to complete the previously drilled Lancaster 205/21a-6 and 205/21a-7Z horizontal production wells, starting second-quarter 2018, Hurricane said.

TechnipFMC has been awarded an engineering, procurement, construction and installation contract (EPCI) from the West of Shetland area field, according to a news release.

The contract, which will be executed as an integrated EPCI project, covers the provision of subsea equipment including umbilicals, risers, flowlines and the subsea production system for the Lancaster Early Production System project.

TechnipFMC said it will also install the subsea equipment, turret buoy and mooring system.

Wood Group Wins Subsea Contract Supporting CNOOC In South China Sea

Wood Group has been awarded a new contract by China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) to support its Lingshui 17-2 gas development in the South China Sea’s Qiongdongnan Basin.

Subsea and flow assurance services will be provided under the contract, which became effective immediately and will be supported by Wood Group’s offices in Perth, Australia, and London.

An independent review for the development’s subsea production system design and a special study and design for its gas export pipeline will be delivered.

PG Flow Solutions Snags Dvalin Contract

Aibel has tapped PG Flow Solutions to provide a chemical injection package for the Dvalin Field tie into Heidrun topside engineering, procurement, construction and installation project.

The DEA Norge-operated field is located in the Norwegian Sea.

The package is part of a new M40 module that will be installed at the Heidrun platform, a news release stated.

PG Flow Solutions said it plans to perform the work at its main fabrication site in Sande, Vestfold, Norway and manage the project as a supplier to Aibel’s engineering office in Asker, Norway.

The package, the value for which was not disclosed, is scheduled for delivery in first-quarter 2018 to Aibel’s yard in Haugesund, Norway.

Xodus Lands Two Contracts Offshore Senegal

Xodus Group will study drilling activities in the Sangomar and Rufisque blocks for Cairn Energy subsidiary Capricorn Senegal Ltd. after winning two environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) contracts.

The contracts cover projects in the Rufisque Offshore, Sangomar Offshore and Sangomar Deep Offshore (RSSD) blocks offshore Senegal, Xodus said.

The company will also perform an ESIA for the Phase 1 development, comprising a FPSO unit, across the SNE deepwater oil field in the Sangomar Deep Offshore block for Woodside Energy (Senegal) B.V. as development lead for the SNE Phase 1 development.

In addition, the work scope includes safety studies. Xodus said it will work with in-country partner, Earth Systems, on the projects.

Capricorn, operator of the RSSD blocks, has a 40% working interest in the joint venture with partners Woodside (35%), FAR Ltd. (15%) and Petrosen (10%). Capricorn is currently operator of the RSSD blocks, but Xodus said the transfer of operatorship to Woodside for the development phase is set to take place in 2018 as Cairn continues exploration work. In addition, FEED work is also scheduled to begin next year with a targeted final investment decision by year-end 2018.

Subsea 7 Selects InterMoor For Mad Dog Mooring, Tow Services

InterMoor has landed a service contract with Subsea 7 to provide mooring and tow services for BP’s new Mad Dog 2 project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, according to a news release.

As part of the contract, InterMoor will secure the new semisubmersible production platform at a depth of 4,440 ft. The work for the new Mad Dog 2 platform includes wet tow and mooring installation.

Subsea 7 is the offshore installation contractor for the BP-operated development.

Petrobel Awards Baker Hughes Subsea Contract For Zohr Field

Baker Hughes, a GE company, has landed a subsea contract from Petrobel for phase two of the Zohr gas field development in the Mediterranean Sea offshore Egypt, a news release stated.

BHGE will provide project management, engineering procurement, fabrication, construction, testing and transportation of a subsea production system. This includes seven manifolds, tie-in systems, long offset subsea and topside control systems, SemStar5 HIPPS (high integrity pressure protection) systems, workover systems and tools, according to the release.

Petrobel is a joint venture between IEOC, an Eni subsidiary in Egypt, and Egyptian General Petroleum Corp. and is in charge of developing the Zohr Field on behalf of PetroSherouk, a joint venture between Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Co. and IEOC.

For the first time, BHGE will also provide 10 e-EHXT trees, manufactured at its subsea center of excellence in Aberdeen, Scotland, the release stated. The trees were designed in collaboration with Eni as part of a standardization exercise, applying field-proven products and systems gained from previous projects with Eni on a range of successful deepwater projects in Africa.

In addition, BHGE will provide wellheads via a separate contract awarded by Petrobel earlier this year.

LLOG Commences Buckskin Project In Deepwater GoM

LLOG Exploration Co. and its partners have taken steps to begin the execution of the Buckskin project, the company said Sept. 7.

LLOG Exploration Offshore LLC has been named as the operator of the Buckskin Project in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GoM). This large-scale project, located in the Keathley Canyon area in a water depth of about 2,073 m (6,800 ft), has been delineated by multiple prior wells and will be about a 10-km (6-mile) subsea tieback to the Anadarko-operated Lucius spar.

Affiliates of LLOG Exploration Co. own a 31.3% working interest in the project. Repsol and Samson Offshore BSM LLC each own a 22.5% working interest, Beacon Offshore Energy Buckskin LLC owns an 18.7% working interest and Navitas Buckskin US LLC owns a 5% working interest.

The Buckskin project will use equipment rated to 15,000 pounds per square inch and will utilize dual 8-in. flowlines with riser base gas lift.

“The field extends onto six lease blocks and we estimate that it contains nearly five billion barrels of oil in place,” LLOG President and CEO Scott Gutterman said.

LLOG recently executed a new contract with the Seadrill West Neptune drilling rig to perform the initial Buckskin work, which will include drilling and completing two wells. The West Neptune will move on the Buckskin location in fourth-quarter 2017. LLOG has also ordered several long-lead items for the topsides and is positioned to achieve first production at Buckskin in second-half 2019.

Energean Gets Approval To Develop Kataloko Offshore Greece

Energean, Greece’s sole oil producer, has secured approval to develop the Kataloko Field in Western Greece, its third such project in the eastern Mediterranean.

The $50 million development plan is targeting 11 MMboe discovered in the early 1980s by the state-owned Public Petroleum Corp. The resources remain undeveloped.

“Energean is now unlocking the value of this very important project for the country as well as revealing the potential for wider exploration of the East Adriatic region,” Energean CEO Mathios Rigas said.

Energean has secured a 25-year exploitation concession for Katakolo, which involves developing the field through extended reach wells from an onshore location in the area. It plans to develop Katakolo alongside its two other current development projects, the Prinos oil field offshore northeastern Greece and the Karish and Tanin gas fields offshore Israel.

Energean said it planned to take a final investment decision on the project in 2018 and drill the first wells in 2019 with first oil expected in 2020.

—Staff & Reuters Reports

Offshore