Jaime Kammerzell • Houston
FEED contract
The ChevronTexaco wholly owned subsidiary Chevron USA Inc. has awarded two major engineering contracts for the Tahiti Project's subsea systems and floating production facility in Green Canyon blocks 640, 641, and 596, 190 mi southwest of New Orleans.
Under the agreement, Technip Offshore Inc. will perform front-end engineering and design (FEED) for the proposed truss spar floating production facility concept. Mustang Engineering will perform FEED for the Tahiti topsides oil and gas processing facilities. Construction contracts will be awarded in 2Q 2005.
The Tahiti field will be developed from two subsea drill centers near the two Tahiti appraisal wells in Green Canyon blocks 596 and 640, completed in early 2003. One of the wells encountered more than 1,000 ft of net pay.
ChevronTexaco is the operator of the Tahiti Project with 58% working interest. Tahiti partners are EnCana Gulf of Mexico LLC 25% and Shell Exploration & Production Co. 17%.
ABS approves new design
The American Bureau of Shipping has approved the ASU 4000, an asymmetric semisubmersible production platform for deepwater development projects, which is meant to compete with TLPs and spars operating in the US Gulf of Mexico or offshore Australia.
GVA Consultants upgraded its product line to improve development options and enhance economics for low production rate fields, the company said. The ASU 4000 is designed to reduce riser motions. The slanted column legs of the ASU connect underwater via rectangular pontoons and above water via a deck box. The aft pontoon is smaller than the fore pontoon, while the aft columns are larger than the fore columns. The ASU includes oil and gas processing equipment – that may be contained in a single module or integrated into the deck box – quarters with integrated helideck for operational personnel, and safety systems in case of an emergency.
Central Gulf of Mexico lease sales
The Central Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 190, held in March, saw strong competition that produced $368,763,482 in high bids from 83 companies for oil and natural gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico off Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The total of all bids was $636,819,534.
The US Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service received 829 bids on 557 tracts. "The fact that this was the highest number of bids received in a Central Sale in the past six years is a clear indication of industry's continued confidence in the Gulf as a source of energy for the nation," Johnnie Burton, MMS director, said.
The ultra-deepwater received a large number of bids, but 60% of the bids were on the shelf, which shows the industry's support of the MMS's Deep Gas Initiative.
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Amerada Hess submitted the highest bid on any block, $35,290,892 for Green Canyon block 468. A group made up of Nexen Petroleum Offshore, Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Unocal, and BHP Billiton Petroleum Inc. submitted the second highest bid, $31,088,000, for Green Canyon block 512.
The MMS has also announced the proposed notice of sale 192, an offshore oil and gas lease sale in the western Gulf of Mexico, scheduled for Aug. 18. Proposed sale 192 encompasses 3,890 unleased blocks covering 21.1 million acres in the western Gulf of Mexico outer continental shelf planning area offshore Texas and in deeper waters offshore Louisiana. The blocks are 5-357 km offshore in 8-3,100 m of water. MMS estimates the proposed sale could result in the production of 136-262 MMbbl of oil and 0.81-1.44 tcf of natural gas.
