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Take Advantage of your
Editorial Exposure
To respond to articles in Offshore, or to offer articles for publication,
contact the editor by email ( davidp@pennwell.com). 12 Of fshore December 2014 • www.offshore-mag.com
C O M M E N T David Paganie • Houston
Top 5 Projects of 2014
The editors of Offshore magazine have selected fve projects that exemplify best-in-class among those that were completed during the frst three quarters of this year. Each
is the recipient of Offshore magazine’s Five Star Award, and I am delighted to announce
the winners inside this issue.
Offshore’s Top 5 Projects of 2014 were selected on the basis of best use of innovation in production method, application of technology, and resolution of challenges, along with safety,
environmental protection, and project execution. In no particular order, the winners are:
Mars B
Shell’s Mars B project, in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, produced frst oil in the frst
quarter of this year. It is the frst time that signifcant infrastructure has been added to
an existing deepwater feld in the GoM, says Shell. The original Mars feld has been operating since 1996, producing about 700 MMboe to date. But the size of the opportunity
in the development area made it economical to build and deploy a new, second TLP to
the area. Shell estimates that there are 1 Bbbl left to recover. Page 36.
Liwan
Husky’s Liwan gas project is the frst deepwater gas development offshore China.
The project, in block 29/26, delivered frst production this year, approximately seven
years following its discovery. It is one of the fastest developments in the world for a
large-scale gas discovery in deepwater. Liwan consists of three natural gas felds: Liwan
3-1, Liuhua 34-2, and Liuhua 29-1, which share a subsea production system, subsea pipeline transportation, and an onshore gas processing plant. Page 38.
Gudrun
Statoil ASA and its partners commenced production from the $3.4-billion Gudrun
oil and gas feld development in the North Sea on June 16, 2014, making it the frst
new Statoil-operated platform to come onstream on the Norwegian continental shelf
since 2005. Discovered in 1974, Gudrun is a high-temperature/high-pressure feld that
remained undeveloped for decades awaiting new technology. The operator expects to
recover 184 MMboe from the feld during its lifetime. Page 42.
CLOV
In June, Total lifted frst oil from CLOV, its fourth deepwater development “pole”
in block 17 offshore Angola. Like its predecessors Girassol, Dalia and Pazfor, CLOV
routes production through a network of subsea fowlines to a spread-moored FPSO.
Total took onboard experiences from these earlier projects to address certain issues,
notably the treatment of two different types of crude. But CLOV also features innovations designed to improve recovery and operational effciency, and also raises the bar in
terms of local construction content. Page 44.
Papa-Terra
Petrobras and EPCI contractor McDermott have completed the installation of a tension leg wellhead platform (TLWP) on Papa-Terra, a heavy-oil feld in block BC- 20 of the
Campos basin 110 km ( 68 mi) offshore Brazil in 1,190 m ( 3,903 ft) of water. It is the frst
use of dry-tree foating technology offshore Brazil and the frst TLP installation offshore
South America, says McDermott. In January 2010, operator Petrobras and partner
Chevron sanctioned the $5.2-billion project that is estimated to recover 380 MMbbl of
heavy oil. The full-feld development consists of an FPSO, TLWP, and a tender assisted
drilling unit. Page 46
Congratulations to all of the operators, partners, contractors, vendors, and service
companies that helped bring forward these projects from discovery to frst production.
More information on the award-winning projects is available in a special webcast
hosted on the Offshore magazine homepage: www.offshore-mag.com.
Meanwhile, on behalf of the entire Offshore Group, thank you for commemorating 60
years of Offshore magazine, and best wishes for the New Year.
