Project Profile
Value: US$4 billion
Location: Walker Ridge, Block 627, 265 miles southwest offshore New Orleans, USA
Reserves: 1 billion barrels of oil
Production: 34,000 barrels of oil
Start-up Year: 2016
Water Depth: 2,000 m
Julia is one of the first large oil discoveries in the ultra-deepwater frontier of the Gulf of Mexico. The Julia discovery is located 265 miles southwest offshore New Orleans in the Walker Ridge Area. The Julia discovery well is in an area of 2,000 metres of water and Exxon announced the discovery in 2008. The estimated reserves of the field reach the 1 billion barrels of oil, the biggest in the history of ExxonMobil. The initial development phase uses subsea tie-backs to the Chevron-operated Jack/St. Malo production facility, reducing the need for additional infrastructure and enhancing capital efficiency. Technology has also played a key role in the Julia development including the use of subsea pumps that have one of the deepest applications and highest design pressures in the industry to date. The partners in the field include ExxonMobil, who is also the operator and Statoil. The Julia field comprises five leases in the ultra-deepwater Walker Ridge area of the Gulf of Mexico, 265 miles southwest of New Orleans. The blocks are WR-584, WR-627, WR-628, WR-540 and WR-583.
Operators:
ExxonMobil: Operator with 50% interest
Statoil: 50% interest
Contractors:
2H Offshore: Conduct the detailed design of two 10 inch production steel catenary risers
FMC Technologies, Inc: A subsea equipment order
McDermott International: EPC contract
Oceaneering International: Supply a production control umbilical
Technip: Project management, engineering, fabrication, installation and pre-commissioning
OneSubsea (a Cameron & Schlumberger company): Umbilical contract
Maersk Drilling: Drilling contract using the first ultra deepwater drillship, Maersk Viking
Trendsetter Engineering: Contract by ExxonMobil for module hardware design and the overall integration of a subsea well-based High-Integrity Pressure Protection System (HIPPS) to be installed at the Julia field
Boa Marine Services Inc. (BMSI): vessel and marine transportation operations using the Multi-Purpose Vessel Boa Deep C.
Oil States and Bardex Corp.: Contract to instal two steel catenary risers (SCRs) linking ExxonMobil’s Julia field to the Chevron USA-operated Walker Ridge Regional Host floating production unit (FPU) in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. (March 2016)
Sub-contractors:
Nexans: Contract by OneSubsea (a Cameron & Schlumberger company) to design, manufacture and supply an integrated power umbilical solution and associated termination hardware
Ampelmann: contract by Boa Marine Services Inc. (BMSI). Under the contract awarded, Ampelmann will provide a gangway solution for the ExxonMobil-operated Julia project in the Gulf of Mexico. The work scope of Ampelmann comprises transferring day and night shifts of personnel and 24 hours emergency evacuation standby. The Multi-Purpose Vessel Boa Deep C. of BMSI is being fitted with an Ampelmann A-type gangway. The A-type is mobilized on a 23-meter pedestal, so it is capable of landing on the platform at a height of 32 metres. The A-type provides a stable transfer platform in conditions up to 2.5 meters significant wave height thereby ensuring a safe, efficient and reliable transfer of personnel.