- Thunder Horse (oil platform)
Thunder Horse is the largest moored
semi-submersible oil platform in the world, located in 1,920 metres (6,300 ft) of water in the Mississippi Canyon Block 778/822, Thunder Horseoilfield , about 150 s (241 km) southeast ofNew Orleans, Louisiana in theGulf of Mexico .Construction costs were around one billion USD. [cite web| url=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/weblog/hurricane/archives/2005/07/billiondollar_o.html| date=July 13, 2005| title=Billion-dollar oil platform listing after Dennis' hit| publisher=Sun-Sentinel.com| accessdate=2006-03-28] The facility is expected to operate for 25 years, producing about one billion barrels of oil. At its peak, it is expected to process convert|200|Mcuft|m3 of natural gas and convert|250000|oilbbl|m3 of oil equivalent per day. [cite web| url=http://www.offshore-technology.com/projects/crazy_horse/| title=Offshore Technology - Thunder Horse Field, Gulf of Mexico] The Thunder Horse platform is owned by
BP (75%) andExxonMobil (25%) and operated by BP.The Hull section was constructed by DSME in
South Korea , Thunder Horse was delivered in 2004 toCorpus Christi, Texas aboard MV "Blue Marlin" for completion. [cite web| url=http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=16673| title=Dockwise Delivers Thunder Horse PDQ to Corpus Christi| publisher=Rigzone| date=September 24, 2004| accessdate=2006-03-28]In July 2005, Thunder Horse was evacuated in the face of
Hurricane Dennis . After the hurricane passed, the platform was listing badly. Inspection teams found no hull damage — Thunder Horse had not taken on water from a leak through its hull. Rather, an incorrectly plumbed, 6-inch length of pipe had allowed water to flow freely among several ballast tanks. That began a chain of events that caused the platform to tip into the water. [ [http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/948325/troubles_run_deep_on_gulf_oil_platform/index.html Troubles Run Deep on Gulf Oil Platform - Science - RedOrbit ] ] The event boosted world oil prices because of speculation of further oil shortages. The platform was fully righted about a week after Hurricane Dennis, but BP announced that commercial production had been delayed. [cite web| url=http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=24067| title= BP CEO: Thunder Horse 2005 Start 'Unlikely'| date=July 26, 2005| accessdate=2006-03-28] The platform was struck almost directly byHurricane Katrina six weeks later, but was not damaged.Current Status
Following lengthy delays caused by the need to repair and replace components in the subsea system (following a failure during pre-commissioning checks), Thunder Horse began oil production in mid-June 2008.
External links
* [http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=9004519&contentId=7009088 BP's Thunder Horse Page] - BP Project Overview
* [http://www.bp.com/extendedgenericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=7007227 BP press release (includes fact sheet)] 12 July 2005
* [http://www.offshore-technology.com/projects/crazy_horse/ Thunder Horse Field @ Offshore-Technology]
* [http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/948325/troubles_run_deep_on_gulf_oil_platform/index.html Troubles Run Deep On Thunder Horse] 29 May 2007References
* [http://news.ft.com/cms/s/17f2e69a-07e6-11da-97a6-00000e2511c8.html FT article, mentions BP announcement]
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