Gulf of Mexico

Quick Guide: Subsea Projects in The Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Fields

Where is the Gulf of Mexico?

The subsea oil and gas projects in the Gulf of Mexico, which is south of the United States and is a tributary of the Atlantic Ocean in North America. To the north it is bounded by the southern coast of the United States, while to the west and south it is bounded by the east coast of Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico covers an area of ​​approximately 1.3 million square kilometers.

Gulf of Mexico Subsea Oil and Gas

How deep is the Gulf of Mexico?

The pool has a simple shape, and slopes down to a depth of about 2000 meters. The deepest point is measured at 5203 meters. Off the west coast of Florida, there is a relatively large continental shelf that consists mainly of carbonate material. The rest of the shelf consists of sand, silt and clay sediments. In the slope, buried salt domes occur at different depths. Deposits of oil and natural gas are associated with these. The continental shelf forms an almost continuous “terrace” around the bay that has a width ranging from a maximum of 320 kilometers to a minimum of 40 kilometers.

Subsea Production Systems

Subsea field development in Gulf of Mexico, maybe with the exception of projects like Mad Dog 2 by BP and Shells Appomattox the offshore projects activities have been less recently. On the contrary from other regions like the North Sea, Asia and the Middle East where the oil and gas investments and number of projects have increase. 

eSubsea – Subsea Connection Systems

Gulf of Mexico Subsea Projects

Subsea oil and gas field developments in the Gulf of Mexico is complicated and it takes years from the initial successful geophysical and seismic surveys to first oil. Exploration drilling and the reservoir can be defined and the volume of oil and gas or condensate can be estimated. The Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Fields field layout can now be developed, including the design of the subsea production systems, pipelines routing and the topside oil production facilities and installations. After all the wells have been drilled and the subsea production systems are installed, the oil production can finally begin.

Top 10 Subsea Projects and Oil Field Developments

Below is a top 10 list of Gulf of Mexico subsea oil and gas field development projects:

  • Morpeth by British Borneo
    The Morpeth project received official sanction from British-Borneo in February 1997. Model tests were executed in April, and first steel was cut in July. The keel was laid in October and the pile foundations were installed in November. The hull was loaded out in mid-July 1998 and installed using McDermott’s DB50 derrick barge in DP ...
  • Petronius by ChevronTexaco
    The multi-deck topsides are 64 m by 43 m by 18.3 m high and hold 21 well slots. The entire structure weighs around 43,000 tons. The Petronius platform has maximum production capacity of 60,000 barrels of oil per day and 100 million cubic feet of gas per day. The Petronius field was discovered in 1995 ...
  • Independence Hub Six Natural Gas Anchor Fields by Anadarko
    is the result of five independent exploration and production companies and a midstream energy company coming together to facilitate the development of multiple ultra-deepwater natural gas and condensate discoveries. Independence Hub Six Natural Gas Anchor Fields, Gulf of Mexico, Anadarko, America(North),
  • Na Kika Oil and Gas by Shell
    host facility project is in Mississippi Canyon, Block 474 about 140 miles south east of New Orleans. Louisiana, USA in water depth 6300’. Na Kika Oil and Gas, Gulf of Mexico, Shell, America(North),
  • Brutus by Shell
    Shell drilled the Brutus discovery well on Block 158 in December 1988. An appraisal well followed in 1994 on the same block; in 1997, a third well was drilled. Gross recovery of Brutus reserves are estimated approximately 250 million boe with a 70:30 oil-to-gas ratio. Oil production is through an 18-in. line 26 miles to ...
  • Mars by Shell
    The initial development was designed to recover about 500 million barrels of oil equivalent. The development for the initial project phase is approximately $1.0 billion. About 55% of the project costs were spent on the fabrication and installation of the hull, deck, facilities and pipelines. The other 45% of the project costs are to be ...
  • Canyon Express by Total
    Canyon Express is a unique development not only for its depth and technical merits, but for the way three producers from three fields have come together to produce fields that would otherwise have been too marginal to be viable. The project connects to three separate deep water gas fields in the Mississippi Canyon and Desoto ...
  • Hoover Diana by ExxonMobil
    The $1.2-billion project to codevelop these two fields will produce peak rates of 100,000 bopd and 325 MMcfd gas. ExxonMobil (66.7%) is the operator; BP Amoco holds the remaining 33.3%. The development utilizes a Deep Draft Caisson Vessel (DDCV) located over Hoover. The 83-story-tall DDCV floats vertically and is nearly "half a football field in diameter," ...
  • Mardi Gras Oil and Gas Transportation System by BP
    fields lies in the Mississippi Canyon and Green Canyon areas of the Gulf of Mexico. In the southern Green Canyon area, pipelines are planned to transport gas and oil from the Mad Dog, Holstein and Atlantis fields. Mardi Gras Oil and Gas Transportation System, Gulf of Mexico, BP, America(North),
  • Horn Mountain by BP
    development is located in 5,400ft of water, approximately 100 miles southeast of New Orleans, in the Gulf of Mexico. The deep water field lies in Mississippi canyon blocks 126 and 127. Horn Mountain, Gulf of Mexico, BP, America(North),

More Worldwide Subsea Projects

The database include many more subsea projects which can be can be sorted by oil field areas as listed below. Click on your area of interest to learn more about the projects.

More Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Projects