TotalFinaElf developing Matterhorn field in deepwater Gulf of Mexico

HOUSTON, July 18 -- TotalFinaElf E&P USA, an affiliate of French company TotalFinaElf SA, has begun development work on Matterhorn oil field on Mississippi Canyon Block 243 in the US Gulf of Mexico.

The field, in 850 m of water, is 170 km southeast of New Orleans. TotalFinaElf owns 100% of the field.

Matterhorn will be developed with a floating structure, said TotalFinaElf, but did not specify what type. It will have throughput capacity of 33,000 b/d of oil and more than 55 MMcfd of gas.

The field will come on stream in the second half of 2003 and should reach 40,000 boe/d by the end of the year.

Production will be brought to shore through connections with the existing subsea pipeline network, said TotalFinaElf.