FPSOs face challenges in US Gulf
The use of floating production, storage and offloading vessels to tap
deep-water oil in the US Gulf of Mexico faces challenges and will depend on
individual project needs, an industry panel discussion heard.
"It will depend on the metrics of the particular project," Chris Oynes,
offshore director for the US Minerals Management Service, told the session
yesterday at the annual Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Reuters
reported.
MMS has approved development plans for the first floater in the Gulf by
Petrobras but no other applications have been filed despite a number of
deep-water discoveries.
In the US Gulf, the exact location of a development, whether natural gas is
produced with the oil and whether there are pipelines nearby will determine
whether an FPSO solution works, Oynes said.
The MMS bans flaring natural gas in the Gulf, meaning associated gas must be
used on a platform or piped to shore. Storage and tanker shipment of gas are
not yet economically feasible, panelists said.
The US Gulf is crisscrossed by pipelines but the network thins far from shore,
partly because of the technical challenges of laying lines in deep water.
Brian Smith, general manager of major projects for Chevron North America said
the company had considered FPSO for its Jack-St. Malo development, but opted
for pipelines.
The company considered whether it would be economical to start development
using an FPSO and then install a pipeline later, but he said the added costs
outweighed the benefits.
"It did not look as attractive as more traditional production," Smith said.
In the case of the proposed Petrobras FPSO in the US Gulf, technical reviews
remain to be completed, Oynes said, "but those should be taken care of in
due course".
08 May 2008 03:51 GMT
| last updated:
08 May 2008 03:51 GMT
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