Project Profile
Value: US$400 million
Location: Block 2, eastern Trinidadian sector of the Venezuela basin, offshore Trinidad & Tobago
Water Depth: 36-46m
Discovery: 1999
Start-up Year: January 2005
The Greater Angostura field lies in block 2C, approximately 38km off the north-east coast of Trinidad, at a water depth from 36-46m. It is located in the eastern Trinidadian sector of the Venezuela basin in relatively shallow waters and is operated by BHP Billiton. The third phase of the multi-phased project was announced in November 2013 after an agreement was signed between the operator and the government of Trinidad and Tobago. According to the terms of agreement, the production sharing contract for the asset will be extended, by five years, up to 2026. BHP Billiton will invest an estimated $400m in the phase three development of the field. The subsea infrastructure is scheduled to be installed in early-2016, while production is planned for September in the same year.
BHP Billiton discovered hydrocarbons in block 2C in 1999 by drilling Angostura-1 well, which was followed by phase one development of the field. Oil production from the field started in 2005. Phase II marked the development of the area\'s gas reserves and achieved gas production in 2011. Greater Angostura is an integrated oil and gas development and has been developed using a central processing platform. The platform is connected to storage facilities at Guayaguayare by a pipeline. From Guayaguayare, the production is transferred to offloading to tankers in Guayaguayare Bay by means of an export pipeline.
The phase three project will be located 22 miles off the east coast of Trinidad and is planned as a three-well development. The drilling campaign commenced with the drilling of a well in 5,000ft of water using Joe Douglas jack-up rig. A 10km-long, 12in-diameter pipeline will secure the Angostura West drill centre to a tie-in spool present at the base of the Angostura gas export platform. The path of the flowline includes an approximately 5km large curved section and will lie at a water depth ranging from 30m to 50m. The project is expected to yield 2.8 million barrels of incremental oil and 400 billion cubic feet (bcf) to 500bcf of natural gas. The development is planned to provide a secure supply to the country by producing approximately 100mmscfd of natural gas by 2016. The phase three development is projected to add up to 1.75 trillion cubic feet (tcf) to the entire Angostura development.It is operated by BHP Billiton (45%) on behalf of joint venture (JV) partners Talisman (25%) and Total (30%).
Operators:
BHP Billiton Petroleum (Trinidad 2C) Limited: Operator with 45% interest
National Gas Company of Trinidad & Tobago: 30% interest
Talisman (Trinidad) Petroleum Ltd.: 25% interest
Total E&P Trinidad BV: Farms out Oct 2013
Contractors:
Cortez Subsea: using the Structure Commander software to inspect six offshore platforms in the Greater Angostura field
GATE (Gibson Applied Technology & Engineering) LLC: Development of initial Start-up Plans and Procedures
Heerema: Installation contract
Icon Engineering: FEED contract
J Ray McDermott: Topside platform, jacket and piles
OPE Trinidad: Pre-feasibility study
Technip: Providing and installing flowline and umbilical
Wood Group: Commissioning services
Ezra Holdings (through its subsea services division, EMAS AMC): Contract with BHP Billiton for the Angostura phase 3 development. The total scope of work includes the project management, fabrication, construction and installation of 12-inch flowline along with a complete subsea package comprised of control umbilicals and detailed engineering, construction and installation of the pipeline end manifold (PLEM) and inline sled (ILS) for the Angostura phase 3 field development. Engineering and procurement are currently under way from EMAS AMC’s Houston office with fabrication of the subsea structures and stalking and spooling of flowlines to be carried out at EMAS Marine Base facility in Ingleside, Texas. Offshore execution is scheduled for mid-2016, utilizing the Lewek Express subsea construction and reel lay vessel.