GULF OF MEXICO

Transocean’sDeepwater Horizon spudded the discovery well Isabela on Feb. 28. The drillship is currently working on an exclusive five-year contract with BP in the Gulf of Mexico. The program kicked off in 2005. Photo courtesy of Transocean.

“Isabela is an important discovery for us, which could add production as early as late 2009,” says Chuck Davidson, chairman, president, and CEO, Noble Energy.

“In addition, when combining Isabela with upcoming development projects at Lorien, Ticonderoga, Swordfish, and Raton/Redrock, Noble Energy’s deepwater program is well positioned to contribute strong production for several years to come,” he says.

BP operates Isabela with a 66.67% working interest. Noble Energy holds the remaining 33.33%.

Deep Marine Technology’s 292-ft (89-m) newbuildDMT Emerald subsea intervention and installation vessel is pictured in the GoM working for BP. The DP-2 vessel is equipped with a 100-ton (91-metric-ton) heave compensated multi-purpose tower, 100-ton (91-metric-ton) knuckle boom crane, and two Triton 150-hp ROVs.

Meanwhile, Mariner Energy has encountered hydrocarbons with its first of two planned wells on the Magellan prospect in East Breaks block 424 in 2,800 ft (853 m) of water. The EB 424 well No.1, drilled to 12,232 ft (3,728 m) TMD, encountered 42 ft (13 m) of net gas pay and two non-commercial zones with marginal gas pays, according to Mariner. Based on well results, the company has lowered its estimate of unrisked reserve potential for the prospect from 100-200 bcfe of gas to 50-100 bcfe.

At print, drilling was underway on an appraisal well. Results are expected in early third quarter. One partner in the first well has opted out of participation in the second well, and Mariner has increased its working interest in the project to 85%.

GoM pipelines join emergency response arrangement

Enterprise Products Partners LP, Enbridge, BP Exploration and Production Inc., and Eni have formed a cooperative to improve access to pipeline repair systems and equipment for water depths up to 10,000 ft (3,048 m).

The newly formed Deep Water Response to Underwater Pipeline Emergencies (DW RUPE) has entered a co-ownership contract to buy $12 million of specialized pipeline repair equipment for storage in the GoM area. Stress Subsea will be the project manager for DW RUPE.

“This initiative will, for the first time, make it possible for the co-owners to have quick access to critical repair systems that typically require long lead times readily available for deepwater pipeline repairs,” says Mike Stark, director of Offshore Pipelines for Enterprise and chairman of the co-ownership group.

Bisso sets salvage record

Bisso Marine has salvaged the first of three Letourneau Inc. 84 Class leg-and-can sections from the seafloor, setting a new GoM salvage record, according to Bisso. The 130-ft (40-m) leg-and-can sections became embedded in 230 ft (70 m) of water during Hurricane Rita. Each of the 425-ton (386-metric ton) steel sections penetrated the seafloor 82 ft (25 m) deep, the company says.

Bisso removed 235 ft (72 m) of leg from each of the three 84 Class legs in late 2005. Since early 2006, the company had been working with the rig owner to assemble a Bisso Marine designed barge with the capability to pull the leg-and-can sections from their embedded locations.

Barge 415 was launched, designed with a maximum pull of 3,000 tons (2,722 metric tons) over the stern and side lift capacity of 5,000 tons (4,536 metric tons). Barge 415, supported by the D/B Boaz, was able to move the first 30 ft x 30 ft (9 m x 9 m) square leg section from an angle of approximately 45° to a completely vertical position.

Once the section was vertical, the barge applied force until the leg and 46-ft diameter (14-m) can were suspended in the water column clear of the seafloor. TheD/B Boaz conducted airlifting and jetting operations to assist the pulling efforts of the barge, Bisso says. The operation took seven days.

The first 130-ft (40-m) section was transported to a nearby temporary wet storage location awaiting the extraction of the other two sections. When all three sections are salvaged, they will be transported to a permanent reefing location, the company says.

Bisso is under contract to extract and transport 15 legs with cans from water depths ranging between 155 ft and 320 ft (47 m and 98 m) in five locations. The legs and cans all will be moved to reef locations in the Gulf.

MMS implements hurricane season operating procedures

The US Minerals Management Service (MMS) is implementing new procedures for operations in the Gulf of Mexico during hurricane season.

Improvements and upgrades from these documents include:

• Installing GPS locators and black box information storage systems on mobile drilling units and jackups to enable monitoring of on-site conditions and tracking of the rig should it drift
• Identifying the best seafloor and soil conditions for jackups, and determining where and when a particular jackup can be used during the hurricane season
• Guiding how to use synthetic fiber ropes for mooring applications, with information on the difference between synthetic rope and traditional steel mooring systems
• Suggesting an increase in the number of mooring lines on rigs, and requiring the installation of high-strength anchors. In most cases, the MMS says, the required number of mooring lines for mobile drilling units increased from eight to 12, and in some cases, from eight to 16
• Improving tie-down procedures to secure equipment on facilities.

The MMS oversees more than 7,300 oil and gas leases on the OCS in the GoM, 1,600 of which are producing, according to the agency. As of March 2007, estimated daily production from these leases was 1.3 MMbbl of oil and 7.7 bcf of gas. This accounts for 25% of US oil production and 14% percent of domestic natural gas production.

Energy Partners marketing assets for sale

Energy Partners Ltd. (EPL) is actively marketing its shelf assets for sale. The assets were included in a divestiture package with its onshore south Louisiana properties, which it had been marketing. An unnamed operator purchased the company’s onshore assets for $71.7 million in cash.

“We are very pleased to have received this compelling offer, which encouraged us to break out the onshore portion of our divesture package to accommodate the sale,” says Richard A. Bachmann, EPL chairman and CEO. “We will now begin separately marketing the balance of our divesture package which is comprised entirely of GoM shelf assets.”

Meanwhile, Energy XXI Ltd. has closed its previously announced acquisition of Pogo’s shelf properties for $414.7 million. Energy XXI’s acquisition includes 28 fields producing about 7,400 net boe/d, across leases comprising 282,000 gross acres.

Cal Dive to acquire Horizon Offshore

Helix Energy Solutions’ majority owned subsidiary Cal Dive International Inc. has signed a merger agreement to acquire Horizon Offshore Inc.

“The acquisition of Horizon makes excellent strategic sense for Cal Dive,” says Martin Ferron, Helix president and CEO. “Among other things, it provides Cal Dive with platform abandonment capability in the GoM and improves their presence in key international markets,” he says. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter.

In other M&A news, Proserv Offshore Llc has acquired Twachtman, Snyder & Byrd (TSB) Inc. “TSB’s deep capabilities and know-how in consulting, project management, and contracting will complement Proserv’s existing strengths as we expand internationally into the offshore well abandonment and decommissioning market,” says Robert Finch, Proserv Group senior vice president of well abandonment and decommissioning. “The acquisition will allow TSB to enhance its services in all phases of decommissioning,” adds Ron Twachtman, TSB’s president and CEO.

Bisso Marine has salvaged a 200 Class liftboat that sank earlier in the year 45 mi (72 km) offshore. The sunken liftboat rested on its starboard side perpendicular to the seafloor and settled to about 15 ft (5 m) below natural bottom. Bisso used the 700-ton (635-metric ton)D/B Cappy Bisso to lift the 670-ton (608-metric ton) liftboat from a water depth of 110 ft (34 m).

In advance of theD/B Cappy Bisso’s arrival, the D/B Boaz removed the upper leg sections and pre-rigged the liftboat with three custom designed 500-ton (454-metric ton) capacity toggles.

Once theD/B Cappy Bisso was supporting the weight of the liftboat, divers cut the lower leg sections below the hull. The vessel lifted the liftboat to the surface where it was refloated, after which, the liftboat and its components were delivered to a shipyard for repair.