Page 6 - LatAmOil Week 42 2022
P. 6

LatAmOil                                          MEXICO                                            LatAmOil



       Woodside moves towards starting




       development work at Trion oilfield






                         AUSTRALIA’S Woodside Energy is report-  preparation for possibly making a final invest-
                         edly taking a major step toward launching the   ment decision (FID) on the Trion project next
                         development of Trion, the ultra-deepwater   year.
                         field located off the coast of the Mexican state of   As for the FSO, Upstream Online’s sources
                         Tamaulipas that it gained earlier this year via the   indicated that Woodside intended to build
                         acquisition of BHP’s petroleum assets.  on the work that BHP had already carried out
                           Market sources told Upstream Online earlier   before handing its petroleum assets over to
                         this week that Woodside was once again look-  the former company. They reported that BHP
                         ing to source the two large surface production   had selected Altera Infrastructure (UK), BW
                         units that it will need to develop Trion – namely,   Offshore (Norway) and SBM Offshore (Neth-
                         a floating storage and off-loading (FSO) facil-  erlands) to compete for a pre-front-end engi-
                         ity and a semi-submersible floating processing   neering and design (FEED) contract.
                         facility.                              The Dutch company  had previously
                           With respect to the 40,000-tonne semi-sub-  appeared to be the front-runner, they noted, but
                         mersible unit, they said the company aimed to   it has stopped seeking out new contracts in Mex-
                         sign a contract with a supplier capable of deliv-  ico since last year. As such, they said, new com-
                         ering a vessel that could handle up to 100,000   petitors may enter the race this year – including
                         barrels per day (bpd) of oil and 145mn cubic feet   MODEC’s Sofec subsidiary and National Oil-
                         (4.106mn cubic metres) per day of gas.  well Varco’s US-based APL subsidiary, both of
                           Woodside has already drafted a list of four   which are, like SBM, capable of designing FSOs
                         potential suppliers for the semi-submersible   with disconnectable turret mooring systems
                         vessel, according to the sources. They named   that can cope with hurricane conditions.
                         Singapore’s Sembcorp Marine and South   The Trion field lies in an ultra-deepwater sec-
                         Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries and Hyun-  tion of the Gulf of Mexico, about 180 km from
                         dai Heavy Industries as the top three contenders   the shore and 30 km south of the US-Mexico
                         and said Japan’s MODEC was behind the oth-  maritime border in 2,500-metre-deep water.
                         ers, in fourth place. The Australian company is   It will eventually yield up to 100,000 bpd of oil
                         believed to have asked the contenders to turn in   and is expected to begin production in the mid-
                         proposals by January 2023, they added.  2020s at the earliest.
                           Woodside, for its part, has confirmed in its   Equity in the Trion project is split between
                         third-quarter performance report that it has   Woodside, with 60%, and Mexico’s national
                         sent out a bid package for the floating produc-  oil company (NOC) Pemex, with 40%. BHP
                         tion unit to potential contractors. It also said in   discovered oil at the block in 2012 and has esti-
                         the same report that it would tender other key   mated its reserves at 500mn barrels of oil equiv-
                         scopes of work in the fourth quarter of 2022 in   alent (boe). ™


























                                                     Trion is not far south of the US-Mexico maritime border (Image: BHP)



       P6                                       www. NEWSBASE .com                        Week 42   19•October•2022
   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11