Oil field development on the Grand Banks off Newfoundland has marked two major milestones.
Partners in the Terra Nova development project let contract to an alliance of contractors for work on the $1.2 billion Grand Banks project.
Operator Petro-Canada Ltd. and Terra Nova partners selected the Grand Banks Alliance (GBA), one of three competing alliances that drew up production design studies for the project as part of a risk-sharing development scheme (OGJ, Aug. 12, p. 38 and July 15, p. 17).
GBA is led by units of Halliburton Co. in concert with Canadian firms.
Terra Nova field, in 295-325 ft of water, is about 285 miles southeast of St. John's, Newf.
Field holds about 406 million bbl of light, sweet crude oil. Production is expected to start in 2001 and peak at about 100,000 b/d.
Petro-Canada owns a 34.2% interest in the project. Other interests are Mobil Oil Canada Properties 20.7%, Husky Oil Operations Ltd. 15.8%, Norsk Hydro AS 15%, Murphy Oil Co. Ltd. 10.7%, and Mosbacher Operating Ltd. 3.6%.
Husky, meanwhile, has unveiled plans for development of Whiterose, another field on the Grand Banks.
GBA's work program
GBA is led by AGRA ShawMont Brown & Root. AGRA is a multinational conglomerate based in Mississauga, Ont., and Halliburton unit Brown & Root Energy Services is based in London and Houston.
Other Halliburton units in GBA are Halliburton Energy Services and Landmark Graphics Corp. Other GBA members include FMC Corp., Coflexip Stena Offshore SA, PCL Industrial Constructors Inc., and Doris ConPro.
GBA's work program includes well construction, reservoir management, and installation of subsea flowlines and wellhead equipment, as well as engineering, design, and construction of a floating production, storage, and off- loading vessel.
ShawMont and Brown & Root will provide engineering and project management. Brown & Root will also work with PCL Industrial Constructors, Edmonton, to manage fabrication of the topsides equipment modules.
Halliburton Energy Services, Dallas, will provide integrated drilling and completion services for subsea wells, as well as reservoir management support.
Landmark Graphics, Houston, will provide information technology and data management services.
GBA's development scheme
GBA has proposed a floating monohull production platform for Terra Nova development.
Shuttle tankers will move oil from the platform, with capacity of 850,000 bbl, 217 miles to a Newfoundland transshipment terminal.
All three alliances that bid on the Terra Nova project proposed a monohull system.
Petro-Canada expects to receive development approval for the project in third quarter 1997, and detailed preproduction work will not begin until then.
The company said about $400 million has been spent to date on exploration, delineation, and engineering.
Total capital and operating costs for the project are estimated at $4.2 billion (Canadian), excluding transportation costs.
Whiterose plans
Husky's Whiterose field is estimated to contain 250 million bbl of oil.
Husky, with a 42% interest, says a 3-year, $130 million first phase would begin producing late in 1998 with an extended production test.
A mobile drilling rig and tankers would be used to sell at least 10,000 b/d before full production is established.
Hibernia oil field, the first to be developed on the Grand Banks in the Jeanne d'Arc basin, is scheduled to begin production at yearend 1998.
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