McDermott completes pipelay, construction work for Shell’s Whale project
McDermott reports that it has safely completed engineering, procurement, construction, installation, and commissioning (EPCIC) activities for Shell Offshore Inc. in the US Gulf of Mexico.
The work was undertaken as part of Shell’s Whale deepwater field development project in Alaminos Canyon block 773, some 200 miles south of Houston.
Awarded in 2021 and completed last month, the project leveraged McDermott's North Ocean 102 vessel and the newly upgraded Amazon to execute complex pipelay operations, reaching water depths of nearly 2,800 meters (9,100 feet).
This included installing approximately 50 kilometers (30 miles) of pipeline and 15 kilometers (9 miles) of umbilicals connecting five subsea drill centers to the new Whale floating production platform.
McDermott says that the Amazon delivered “an advanced ultra-deepwater pipelay system with a high-level of automation.”
In a Gulf of Mexico first, McDermott says that the vessel installed five 3,350 meters-long (approximately 11,000 feet) steel catenary risers, showcasing the vessel's high top tension capacity, and marking a significant milestone for subsea infrastructure projects.
The Shell Whale development features a semisubmersible production platform, with capability for remote operations and monitoring of almost every aspect of the facility. First oil began began flowing earlier this year.
