The Gulf of Mexico is near the southern coast of the U.S and is commonly referred to as the USA ‘Third Coast’. The straits of Florida join it to the Atlantic Ocean, and the Yucatan Channel hyperlinks it with the Caribbean Sea.
The Gulf of Mexico spans 1,680,000 sq km with a most depth of seven,020 m. It’s fashionable for fishing, delivery, recreation and tourism.
Nonetheless, it’s recognized worldwide for being the western hemisphere’s 2nd best oil basin, dotted with lots of of oil and pure gasoline fields, because of Mississippi and different rivers, which deposited wealthy natural mud and sediment into the Gulf for hundreds of thousands of years.
The Gulf of Mexico reserves are estimated to include 3.44 billion barrels of oil and 5.7 trillion cubic toes of pure gasoline that may be procured from the 459 lively oil and gasoline fields within the area.
The Gulf of Mexico offshore oil manufacturing is 15% of the whole crude oil manufacturing of the United States. Additionally, offshore pure gasoline manufacturing within the Gulf of Mexico is 5% of the whole dry manufacturing within the nation.
There are lots of of lively oil rigs and platforms within the Gulf of Mexico, with the foremost ones operated by key gamers, together with Chevron Company, Shell PLC, ExxonMobil Corp, and BP PLC, amongst others.
However when did oil platforms seem within the Gulf of Mexico area?
Oil platforms within the Gulf of Mexico started showing within the Nineteen Forties and have become extra elaborate, complicated, superior and multi-purpose constructions with the passage of time.
The preliminary oil rigs have been small and have been used to extract oil from the nearshore wells. Within the Seventies, larger platforms have been being constructed in deeper waters.
At this time, there are millions of oil platforms within the Gulf of Mexico, which play an important position within the availability of oil and gasoline throughout the globe.
With technological developments, oil corporations have taken drilling and manufacturing farther from the coast into deep waters.
Within the Gulf of Mexico, oil rigs transcend the sting of the continental shelf, 100 miles offshore, to round 350 miles from the Gulf shores.
Let’s discover the ten Main Oil Rigs within the Gulf of Mexico.
The Petronius Oil Platform
Petronius is likely one of the largest oil platforms within the Gulf of Mexico, operated by Chevron, 210 km southeast of New Orleans, US. It’s also one of many tallest free-standing constructions on the planet.
This compliant tower oil rig was constructed from 1997-2000. It weighs round 47,399 tonnes and operates at a depth of 1754 toes.
Its tower design permits the rig to sway with tidal currents somewhat than resisting motion. It’s 2001 toes excessive with a multi-deck topside harbouring essential gear, dwelling areas for the employees, pipelines, operations room and the drilling rig.
The Petronius platform extracts 60,000 barrels of oil and three,000,000 m3 of pure gasoline each day.
This construction was constructed to take advantage of the Petronius discipline, present in 1995, and named after the well-known Roman author, Petronius.
Perdido Spar Platform
Perdido is the world’s deepest spar and the 2nd deepest oil and gasoline manufacturing platform after Shell’s Stones Improvement. It’s operated by Shell and has remained operational since 2010.
It comprises a spar platform moored in 2450 m deep waters, serving as a hub of manufacturing for the Nice White, Silvertip and Tobago deepwater fields.
Perdido can course of 100,000 barrels of crude oil and 200 million cubic toes of gasoline each day.
The host platform has a 170 m lengthy cylindrical spar hull weighing 22,000 tonnes, designed to face probably the most highly effective storms.
This spar hull was in-built Pori, Finland, and transported to the Gulf of Mexico by way of the Baltic Sea in 2008.
Perdido has 3 topsides, and its decks are as huge as 2 soccer fields. It homes oil and gasoline manufacturing items, dwelling quarters for 170 folks and a drilling rig.
Round 12,000 folks have been concerned within the undertaking on the peak of its building, and gear for a similar was introduced in from all over the world.
The most important problem was that every one the gear needed to be mild sufficient to be shipped utilizing floating cranes.
Olympus TLP
The Olympus, a pressure leg platform or TLP, is located one mile or 1.6 km from the Mars Platform. This Shell-owned construction is the most important floating deepwater platform within the Gulf of Mexico for extracting oil from the Mars oilfield.
This platform was put in to increase the manufacturing lifetime of the deepwater oilfield to 2050 and extra. The platform has processing amenities enabling the manufacturing from close by Boreas & South Deimos fields as properly.
The platform’s hull was accomplished in 2012 and shipped from the development yard in South Korea to Ingleside, Texas, in 2013 utilizing a semi-submersible, heavy-lift vessel referred to as Blue Marlin.
The undertaking concerned 25,000 folks on the peak of building, and the primary oil was extracted in January 2014.
Olympus platform can course of round 100,000 barrels of oil per day. It has 24 properly slots, a drilling rig and a helipad.
It’s 406 ft excessive and weighs over 120,000 tonnes with a mixed deck space of 342,000 ft2. There are four-storey dwelling quarters for 192 folks, that includes pantries, a management room, a medical facility and health areas.
Atlantis Platform
The deepest-moored floating oil and gasoline construction on the time of its set up, the Atlantis, is 305 km south of New Orleans.
It incorporates a semi-submersible design, and the manufacturing platform is supported by a definite cell offshore drilling unit.
Mendacity in 2150 m of water, the oil discipline covers 5 blocks with water depths starting from 4400 to 7100 ft.
Although scheduled to start out operations in 2006, progress was delayed resulting from hurricanes and different components. Nonetheless, the primary oil was produced by the platform in 2007.
Initially, the capability was round 10,000 barrels of oil per day, however it peaked in 2008, producing 200,000 barrels of oil and 180 million cubic toes of gasoline each day.
In 2019, BP introduced its plans to develop the Atlantic at a price of $1.3 billion.
This improvement got here after a further 400 million barrels of oil was discovered within the discipline utilizing the most recent seismic imaging applied sciences. After the completion of the growth part, the oil manufacturing capability of the platform will enhance by 38,000 barrels per day.
Shenzi Platform
The Shenzi Platform lies 195 km off the Louisiana coast within the Inexperienced Canyon protraction area within the Gulf of Mexico.
This stand-alone pressure leg platform stands in 1310 m deep waters, producing oil and gasoline with a each day manufacturing capability of 100,000 barrels and 50 million cubic toes.
The Shenzi platform’s topsides have been fabricated by Kiewit Offshore, and its hull by Samsung. The topsides are unfold over 3 decks, supported by the 4-column hull.
The oilfield was found in 2002, and the primary oil and pure gasoline from the power have been obtained in 2009. At present, Shenzi has 17 wells, and two are below improvement.
Woodside has 72% curiosity within the Shenzi discipline as its operator, whereas the remainder 28% lies with Repsol. Woodside Petroleum Ltd acquired the platform as a part of its 2021 settlement with BHP Group to mix their oil and gasoline portfolios.
Magnolia ETLP
Magnolia is an prolonged pressure leg platform (ETLP) and offshore oil drilling facility within the Gulf of Mexico. Its peak from the seabed to the highest is 4698 ft. Therefore, it’s thought-about to be the world’s tallest construction by many.
It was the world’s deepest ETLP, overtaking the Marco Polo by 120 m; nevertheless, in 2018, the Large Foot ETLP, reaching 5180 ft, took over Magnolia.
The Magnolia Subject lies 290 km south of Cameron, Louisiana, within the Gulf of Mexico. The principle operate of the platform is to supply oil from 5 wells. It has a capability for 50,00 barrels of oil and 150 million cubic toes of pure gasoline; nevertheless, it produces 5,000 barrels each day as of now.
Underwater pipelines transport this oil to the Shell Enchilada platform, a processing and transportation hub.
Magnolia is a floating platform and is held down by metal tethers linked to the seafloor. Its hull includes 4 cylindrical columns linked under the waterline utilizing an oblong pontoon body.
Baldpate Oil Platform
Located within the Gulf of Mexico, 110 miles off the coast of Louisiana, within the Backyard Banks space, the Baldpate was the first-ever free-standing offshore compliant tower.
Baldpate Platform is the 2nd tallest construction constructed in water after the Petronius Oil Platform.
This 579.7 m construction was designed and constructed by Hudson Engineering, now J Ray McDermott Engineering in Texas and was put in as a replacement by Heerema Marine Contractors.
Owned and operated by Hess Company, the compliant towers of the platform are extra versatile than the mounted truss towers. Baldpate was designed in a method so it might transfer as much as ten toes laterally in tough seas and storms.
The platform was constructed in a number of sections that have been assembled later when it reached its ultimate vacation spot.
The construction’s fundamental parts, together with the compliant tower part jacket, weighing 28,900 tonnes, have been made by Aker Gulf Marine.
The construction’s fundamental legs have a 12 ft diameter, and the nook of every facet is supported by metal piles reaching a 430 ft depth.
Mad Canine Spar Platform
The Mad Canine Oil Subject lies on the Inexperienced Canyon Blocks, Western Atwater Foldbelt within the Gulf of Mexico, 310 km south of New Orleans, in 1500 m to 2100 m deep waters. It was found in 1998 and began operations in 2005. The oil discipline is owned by BP, Chevron and BHP.
Per estimates, the sector has reserves starting from 200 to 450 million barrels of oil with a each day manufacturing capability of roughly 100,000 barrels and 60 million cubic toes of pure gasoline.
The Mad Canine Spar Platform was in-built Finland. Its hull is 169 m lengthy with a diameter of 39 m. It comprises 13 manufacturing slots and dwelling quarters for 126 folks. Oil from the platform is taken to Ship Shoal 332B by means of the Caesar Pipeline, whereas pure gasoline is shipped by means of the Cleopatra Pipeline.
In 2008, Mad Canine suffered harm in Hurricane Ike. Its drilling derrick toppled and lay on the seafloor. One other drilling bundle was constructed and put in on the spar in 2012.
Thunder Horse Platform
The Thunder Horse Oil discipline is situated 240km from New Orleans, Louisiana, within the Gulf of Mexico. It has huge reserves with new oil discoveries made just lately, in 2019. BP plc and ExxonMobil are concerned in its improvement.
Thunder Horse is the most important offshore manufacturing facility within the Gulf of Mexico area, with a dealing with capability of 250,000 barrels of oil and 200 million cubic toes of gasoline per day.
This construction can be the most important moored semi-submersible oil platform on the planet, located in 1920 m of water. Its hull part was constructed by DSME in South Korea and delivered to the set up web site in 2004.
It was evacuated in 2005 resulting from Hurricane Dennis. The platform was itemizing after the hurricane. Nonetheless, there was no harm or leak from the hull. As an alternative, water gushed in by means of a pipe, which led to the construction tipping within the waters. It was righted a number of days after the hurricane handed after the required repairs have been accomplished.
Mars TLP Platform
The Mars Rigidity Leg Platform, concerned in offshore drilling and oil & gasoline manufacturing, operates within the Mississippi Canyon Blocks within the Gulf of Mexico, producing its first oil in 1996.
It’s owned by Shell Oil Firm and BP, with the previous being the bulk share proprietor and operator of the construction.
It lies in 896 m of water and is made to supply roughly 220,000 barrels of oil and 220 million cubic toes of gasoline each day.
Shell started creating the Mars Platform in 1993, utilizing a self-designed and engineered TLP, which was put in 3 years later at 2490 ft water depth, turning into the deepest such construction at the moment when measured from the bottom to the highest.
It was broken when the Gulf of Mexico was hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005; nevertheless, after it underwent appreciable repairs, it started producing a bit of above the pre-hurricane ranges in 2006.
No vital accidents have been recorded in over one million man-hours taken within the restore work on the platform, a key milestone of the Restoration Challenge.
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