08.16.2017
New milestone crossed for newbuild Stampede platform in US Gulf on way to first oil
Author: Kathrine Schmidt
26 Jul 2017 19:31 GMT Updated 1 Aug 2017
Hess has ticked off another milestone in its progress to first oil at the Stampede development in the US Gulf of Mexico, having completed installation of its tension-leg platform offshore, the company said.
The US independent also said hookup activities had begun for the development in Green Canyon Blocks 468, 511 and 512, an update shared along with quarterly earnings on Wednesday.
"One well has been drilled and completed, and completion operations are underway on the second and third wells," Hess said in a statement.
"First production from the field is expected in the first half of 2018."
The TLP will have capacity for some 80,000 barrels of oil per day, with resources estimated at 300 million to 350 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Hess operates with a 25% stake, with partners Chevron, Statoil and CNOOC also on a quarter each.
The Stampede process has now passed the stage where the last tension-leg platform installation in the US Gulf -- Chevron's Big Foot -- floundered in 2015.
Some of the tendons -- which attach the platform to the seafloor for stability -- on that project were irreparably damaged after a failure of buoyancy modules.
After the tendons were installed, the flotation devices were supposed to hold the tethers at the ready as the setup awaited installation of the platform. But, some detached, leaving the tendons to fall, irreparably damaging and forcing re-fabrication of some of them.
The US supermajor has recovered an insurance claim and reached an out of court settlement with a contractor. That development, too, is planned for first oil in 2018 but in the latter months.
Reprinted with permission.