Chevron: Big Foot output delayed to 2018

OREANDA-NEWS. August 03, 2015. Chevron ruled out any output from its US Gulf of Mexico (GoM) deepwater Big Foot project until 2018 at the earliest as the major still investigates the cause of the setback to the facility.

A total of nine tendons — subsea structures meant to tether the massive production platform to the sea floor — sunk to the sea floor in June. The tendons, which are each about a mile long, first began to lose buoyancy on 29-31 May.

"Site surveys and equipment inspections are in progress to determine whether the installed pipes and recovered tendons can be reused and what equipment will require replacement in order to complete the project," Chevron said. "At this point, we are not expecting any Big Foot production in 2016 or 2017."

First production from Big Foot was expected in late 2015, with net output of 10,000 b/d in 2016 and 22,000 b/d in 2017.

The company claims the setback will not hurt its overall growth targets as other projects will make up for the shortfall.

The Big Foot field is about 225 miles south of New Orleans, in about 5,200 feet of water.

Chevron will operate Big Foot with a 60pc stake. Norway's state-controlled Statoil holds 27.5pc, and Japan's Marubeni Oil and Gas has the remaining 12.5pc.