This paper describes development planning for the Mirage & Telemark Fields located in 4000 -4500 ft WD in the Gulf of Mexico. These fields are relatively small, short lived oil fields with multiple pay zones. Factors driving development planning include: Lack of accessible nearby infrastructure Multiple pay horizons & short field life Limited availability of MODU's for pre-drilling Potential satellite tiebacks in the vicinity Parallel vs. sequential development of the nearby Telemark Field Functionality & Residual value in floating infrastructure These fields have 2 -4 pay zones in each well, so a dry tree concept was preferred. Because the floating platform design life is over 20 years vs. estimated field life of only 5 -7 years, the development facilities need to be designed for convenient relocation to other deepwater fields in order to maximize residual value.The MinDOC3 (Minimum Deepwater Operating Concept) hull was selected for field development because of flexibility, functionality and ability to fabricate in the US Gulf Coast. Hull construction required installation of the first graving dock for offshore construction in the US Gulf Coast.

The design and installation of the mooring system for the MinDOC deep draft floating platform for the Mirage and Telemark field development presented several unique challenges. This system was the first permanent mooring to be designed with post Hurricane Katrina and Rita metocean conditions. Another factor adding complexity and stringent performance requirements was the use of dry trees on the development. The combination of these requirements required an efficient, robust mooring design based on a polyester taut-leg system consisting of twelve moorings and driven piles. During the design stage, it was not known which vessel would install the mooring or perform the hookup to the hull. Therefore careful consideration was given to the type, size, and component weight, as well as the length of the polyester segments. This was done in an effort to maximize flexibility and allow the mooring to be installed by either an Anchor Handling Tug Supply (AHTS) vessel or a construction vessel. The mooring was designed to be installed in three (3) phases to increase flexibility during the offshore campaign. The advantages of this approach were that the project could install the mooring off the critical path, utilize smaller less expensive vessels for key phases, and reduce the time required for hookup. Over the last several years, the practice of prelaying polyester moorings on the seabed has been widely accepted and relatively common for MODUs in the Gulf of Mexico and around the world. However, approval for this practice was still unprecedented for a permanent mooring system. The approval process included a combination of field and laboratory testing to demonstrate that exposure to the seabed would not have a detrimental effect on the strength and fatigue characteristics of the polyester mooring ropes over the service life of the mooring. The ability to prelay the moorings on the seabed offered cost savings, risk reduction, and scheduling advantages to the project and allowed the project to maintain installation flexibility.

Provides industry-based BASM guidance to BSEE pertaining to certain alternate procedures and equipment (alternate compliance) requests from the regulations in 30 CFR 250 Subpart J, specifically paragraphs 250.1002 and 250.1003. These guidelines pertain specifically to hydrotesting of deepwater pipeline system tiebacks from subsea wells to surface-based floating production systems and deepwater export pipeline and riser systems to downstream facilities under DOI jurisdiction. This report was downloaded from the PHMSA website.