Shell’s Appomattox semisubmersible floating production system (FPS) has made the journey from the Kiewit Offshore Services construction facility in Ingleside, Texas, to its deep-water Gulf of Mexico (GOM) installation site, Crowley Maritime Corp. reported Monday.
“We are proud to have assisted Heerema with another safe and productive tow-out,” Johan Sperling, Crowley’s vice president, said in a written statement. “Our Ocean Class tugs and experienced team continue to demonstrate the company’s ability to provide offshore and heavy lift marine project support for a variety of energy customers.”
Working on Heerema’s behalf, Crowley deployed its Ocean Sky and Ocean Sun tugboats to tow the FPS through the Aransas Channel before disconnecting and escorting the platform to the GOM site, Crowley stated. Upon arrival, the tugs reconnected to provide positioning support as Heerema attached the FPS to its mooring spread, the company added.
According to Shell’s website, the Appomattox development is located approximately 80 miles offshore Louisiana at a water depth of 7,400 feet. The project will initially develop the Appomattox and Vicksburg fields and achieve an average peak annual production of 175,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, noted the company. Shell and CNOOC Limited subsidiary Nexen Petroleum Offshore U.S.A. Inc. own 79-percent and 21-percent interests, respectively, in the platform and in the Appomattox and Vicksburg fields.
Shell discovered Appomattox in 2010 and Vicksburg three years later, and it announced the project’s final investment decision in July 2015. The company has stated that the Appomattox development host will include:
- A semisubmersible
- A four-column production host platform
- A subsea system with six drill centers
- 15 producing wells
- Five water injection wells
Shell has reported that the Appomattox development has a current break-even price below $50 per barrel and should achieve first oil by the end of this decade.