By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Nov. 12 -- Total E&P USA Inc., an affiliate of French company Total SA, reported the start-up of Matterhorn oil field on Mississippi Canyon Block 243 in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.
The field, wholly owned and operated by Total E&P, is about 160 km southeast of New Orleans in 850 m of water.
Matterhorn field, which was discovered in 1999, was developed with a tension leg platform with throughput capacity of 33,000 b/d of oil and 55 MMcfd of natural gas (OGJ Online, July 18, 2001). Production is transported ashore via flowlines connected to the existing pipeline network.
Matterhorn is the third field operated by the Total unit in the deepwater gulf, following Virgo and Aconcagua fields. ". . .Matterhorn field is in line with Total's strategy of increasing production in the deepwater US Gulf of Mexico where the company has been awarded 21 new exploration blocks in 2003," Total noted.
Total had reported that production from Matterhorn is expected to reach 40,000 boe/d by yearend (OGJ Online, July 18, 2001).