By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, Feb. 19 -- BP PLC outlined plans late Monday for the construction of three crude oil pipelines that will carry oil production from the firm's major discoveries in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.
The large-diameter lines will transport oil production from four BP-operated fields: Crazy Horse, Holstein, Mad Dog, and Atlantis. The systems will be operated by BP through its wholly owned subsidiary Mardi Gras Transportation Inc.
The oil pipeline plans represent the third major component of BP's proposed Mardi Gras Transportation system in the deepwater gulf. The company last year unveiled plans for the related Okeanos and Cleopatra gas gathering systems in covering the same four fields and the Nakika field development (OGJ, Nov. 19, 2001, Newsletter, p. 9).
The first of these systems, Caesar oil pipeline, will span 120 miles and link Holstein, Mad Dog, and Atlantis fields with Ship Shoal Block 332. The main portion of this line will comprise 28-in. pipe, with laterals to the three fields tapering to 24-in. pipe. Ceasar, which will have initial capacity of 450,000 b/d, is the first of its size to be installed in water deeper than 5,000 ft in the gulf, BP said. Caesar will be owned by Caesar Oil Pipeline Co. LLC, which is owned by BP 56%, BHP Billiton Ltd. 25%, Equilon Pipeline Co. LLC 15%, and Unocal Corp. 4%. Caesar is slated to come on line in 2004.
The second system, Cameron Highway Offshore Pipeline System, will transport production from SS Block 332 to Texas landfall. The $450 million, 380 mile system was announced last week and is to be built by El Paso Energy Partners LP. It will deliver as much as 500,000 b/d of oil from the southern Green Canyon area of the gulf and the western gulf to Port Arthur and Texas City, Tex. (OGJ Online, Feb. 13, 2002). BP has inked transportation agreements with the El Paso Corp. unit for its oil field production. Like Ceasar, Cameron is also slated for start-up in 2004, which is when Holstein field is expected to begin production.
The third system, which will consist of two large segments, will serve Crazy Horse field in the Mississippi Canyon portion of the gulf. Proteus Oil Pipeline -- the 28-in. deepwater portion of the system -- will extend 70 miles from the Crazy Horse platform to a booster station platform yet to be installed on South Pass Block 89. From there, Proteus will connect to Endymion Oil Pipeline, a 90 mile, 30-in. system extending to Clovelly, La., where it will connect with Louisiana Offshore Oil Port storage and offloading facilities.
Combined, Proteus and Endymion will have an initial capacity of 420,000 b/d. Both segments are slated for completion in early 2005, in line with Crazy Horse's intended start-up period.