First production for Chevron’s Big Foot in the Gulf of Mexico is being delayed after its subsea installation tendons suffered damages.
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Big Foot. From Chevron. |
The US supermajor is moving Big Foot tension leg platform (TLP) to sheltered waters from the deepwater Walker Ridge area, approximately 360km south of New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1600m water depth.
Tendons were pre-installed in preparation for connection to the Big Foot TLP, however, between 29 May and 31 May, several tendons lost buoyancy. Damage to the tendons, which are not connected to subsea wells and are used to attach the TLP to the seafloor, is being assessed, Chevron said.
First production, originally planned for late 2015, will now be delayed.
At the time of the incident, the Big Foot TLP was not connected to any subsea wells or tendons and the TLP itself was not damaged. Fluids have not been released to the environment, and no injuries were reported.
Big Foot is a dry-tree extended tension leg platform with an on-board drilling rig and production capacity of 75,000 bbl and 25 MMcf/d of natural gas.
In March, Chevron said once Big Foot is safely anchored to the ocean floor, the offshore hook-up and commissioning work will begin, followed by the development well drilling and completion campaign.
Chevron’s subsidiary, Chevron USA Inc. is the operator with a 60% interest, along with partners Statoil (27.5%) and Marubeni Oil & Gas (12.5%).
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