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Cascade-Chinook floater gets the nod



By Upstream staff 

The US Minerals Management Service (MMS) has given the green light to Petrobras' development plan for the Cascade-Chinook development, a project which will see the first use of a floating production, storage and offloading vessel in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Petrobras and US independent Devon Energy-operated development lies in 8200 feet of water in the Walker Ridge area about 165 miles off Louisiana.

The MMS approved the project after a thorough environmental and technical review.

“This is an important step for Petrobras and all oil and gas operators exploring in deepwater Gulf of Mexico,” said Lars Herbst, regional director for the MMS Gulf of Mexico Region.

The Cascade-Chinook floater will be equipped with a disconnectable turret.

In the event of a hurricane or tropical storm, the vessel will be able to disconnect from the turret and move off location until the storm has passed.

“The Cascade-Chinook project will be the first production from deep discoveries in the Lower Tertiary trend of the Walker Ridge and Keathley Canyon areas of the Gulf,” said Herbst in a statement.

The next step in the development process is the MMS review of Petrobras’ deep-water operations plan.

The plan outlines the specific details and capabilities of the FPSO and associated new technologies, and must be approved before production can begin.


Tuesday, 29 April, 2008, 15:44 GMT  | last updated: Tuesday, 29 April, 2008, 20:31 GMT

Flying high: MMS approves first FPSO facility in the Gulf of Mexico
 

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