MWCC awards Technip containment equipment FEED

Offshore staff

HOUSTON – The Marine Well Containment Co. (MWCC) has awarded a front-end engineering and design contract for underwater containment equipment. Issued by ExxonMobil on behalf of MWCC, the hardware will be used for GoM emergency response.

The scope of the work includes system engineering and design of specific subsea components including the containment assembly, manifold, control umbilicals, accumulator, dispersant injection, risers, and flowlines.

The subsea containment equipment is to be designed to create a direct connection and seal on a subsea well to prevent oil from escaping. The system will have adapters and connectors to interact with various interface points, including any well design and equipment used by oil and gas operators in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

The new system aims to be flexible, adaptable, available for mobilization within 24 hours, and usable on a wide range of well designs and equipment, oil and natural gas flow rates, and weather conditions. The new system will be engineered to be used in water depths up to 10,000 ft (3,048 m) and have initial capacity to contain 100,000 b/d of liquids with potential for expansion.

ExxonMobil leads the engineering, procurement, and construction phase of the marine well containment system on behalf of the other MWCC sponsors Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Shell.

"In addition to the construction of new equipment, we are continuing efforts to secure existing system components to be available for near-term use," says Lloyd Guillory, marine well containment system project executive.

10/07/2010