Canyon Express subsea tieback planned
Elf Exploration, BP Amoco, and Marathon reportedly will participate in the deepest subsea development in the Gulf of Mexico - at 7,073 ft. The project has not yet been sanctioned. Elf's Anconcagua field on Mississippi Canyon 304, BP Amoco's King's Peak field on Desoto Canyon 177, and Marathon's Camden Hills field on Mississippi Canyon 348 are to be tied back nearly 50 miles. The three subsea fields will be tied in to Elf's Virgo platform on Viosca Knoll 823 in a project dubbed the "Canyon Express."
ExxonMobil, Agip join forces
ExxonMobil and ENI's Agip Petroleum Exploration signed a deal on deepwater blocks covering 5,200 sq km in the Gulf of Mexico. Under the agreement, Agip can earn 25% of ExxonMobil's interest in up to 259 deepwater blocks by drilling a minimum of 12 exploration wells over the next five years. The leases are located offshore Texas, Louisiana, and Missi ssippi. They extend from Alaminos Canyon to Atwater Valley in water depths ranging from 3,000 ft to 8,000 ft. ExxonMobil owns 100% interest in about two-thirds of the blocks and 50% interest in the remainder. Drilling is expected to begin later this year.
Incident rates declining
Safety programs are only one component of the improved safety record trend in the Gulf of Mexico, said Bill Cook, chief of the Performance and Safety Branch of Offshore Minerals Management for the Minerals Management Service. "Compliance is not enough," he said. While the rate of collisions, explosions, and fatalities seems to be declining, everyone must be vigilant when it comes to safety, Cook said. "I don't believe in luck out there," he said.
Expect busy storm season in 2000
Weather experts predict an active hurricane season during the summer of 2000 with eight named storms expected to form in the Atlantic Ocean basin and five expected to reach hurricane intensity. The Weather Research Center says there is a 90% chance that a tropical storm or hurricane will affect Gulf of Mexico offshore oil lease areas. There is also an estimated 30% chance of a Category 3 or higher hurricane occurring in the Atlantic. Last year, there were a dozen tropical storms, of which eight became hurricanes. Tropical storm chances by month are: June - 36%; July - 18%; August - 91%; September - 100%; October - 91%; and Nov ember - 36%.
Apia project now producing
Mariner Energy's Apia Project is producing about 40 MMcf/d of natural gas in 700 ft of water. Located on Garden Banks 73, the field is flowing from a single subsea well connected to a host platform about three miles away. Mariner operates the well with 100% working interest.
FERC decides on Buccaneer
The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved a preliminary determination on non-environmental issues for the Buccaneer Gas Pipeline project. Buccaneer is to complete a thorough and timely environmental review. Project sponsors called the decision good news. The $1.5 billion Buccaneer Gas Pipeline project, a joint pipeline development between Duke Energy and Williams, would extend 674 miles across the Gulf of Mexico, transporting 900 MMcf/d of natural gas from offshore Alabama to the state of Florida.
BP Amoco awards engineering contracts
BP Amoco awarded engineering contracts to Paragon Engineering Services and Intec Engineering for initial work on an oil and gas transportation infrastructure to be developed in the Gulf. Paragon will focus on the onshore and continental shelf offshore pipelines and potential booster stations while Intec will focus on deepwater infrastructure. The companies will propose routes, equipment, and transportation components for system availability in 2003 for areas in Mississippi Canyon, Atwater Valley, and Green Canyon. These contracts are valued at about $8 million for the first year. One BP Amoco executive estimated that the infrastructure will cost over $1 billion.
Apache ready for "Year of the Drill Bit"
Apache expects new drilling and exploitation activity in the Gulf of Mexico to add an estimated 35 MMcf/d of gas and 3,500 b/d to its net production. Gulf production increases will come from Grand Isle 45 with an expected flow rate of 10 MMcf/d of gas, South Timbalier 295 with an expected flow rate of 15 MMcf/d of gas and 2,180 b/d from two wells, and the High Island 195 C-6 well with an expected flow rate of 18-20 MMcf/d of gas. "This is the year of the drill bit for Apache," said Apache President and Chief Operating Officer G. Steven Farris.
Deepwater Nautilus to work for Shell
R&B Falcon's Deepwater Nautilus semisubmersible arrived in Galveston, Texas, to prepare for its first job for Shell in the Gulf of Mexico under a five-year contract. The rig, constructed at the Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard in South Korea, will be equipped to drill in 8,000 ft water depths.