Offshore staff
INGELSIDE, Texas – As Shell finishes construction on its Appomattoxsemisubmersible platform hull, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement engineers and inspectors signed off on several topsides components during a recent pre-production inspection.
Anthony Pizza, BSEE New Orleans District Production Operations Section Chief, said: “The Appomattox will be Shell’s largest floating platform in the Gulf of Mexico. The purpose of our inspection is to ensure the topsides are constructed as planned, meet industry and BSEE standards, and comply with federal regulations.”
The bureau’s physical inspection involved 10 inspectors divided into two groups, each simultaneously inspecting different areas of the facility for three consecutive days. Each group concentrated on various processes, components, and equipment and the inspectors spent an average of 10.5 hours each day inspecting the facility.
“Our engineers and inspectors are working with Shell to ensure the Appomattox is prepared to operate in a safe and environmentally sustainable manner,” said Pizza. “With an estimated 650 MMbbl of recoverable oil equivalent in the field, the potential contribution to America’s energy needs is great.”
The Appomattox development initially will produce from the Appomattox and Vicksburg fields. The development host will comprise a semisubmersible, four-column production host platform, a subsea system featuring six drill centers, 15 producing wells, and five water injection wells.
Appomattox is 80 mi (129 km) offshore Louisiana, in approximately 7,200 ft (2,195 m) of water. The platform and the Appomattox and Vicksburg fields will be owned by Shell (79%) and Nexen Petroleum Offshore U.S.A. Inc. (21%), a wholly owned subsidiary of CNOOC Ltd.
According to Shell, the platform is slated for first oil by the end of this decade and will add about 175,000 boe/d to the nation’s supply.
04/02/2018
