Technip and Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Corp., a wholly owned affiliate of Kerr-McGee Corp. will receive the prestigious Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) Distinguished Achievement Award on May 3rd, 2005 at the OTC Awards Luncheon in Houston, Texas.
The award recognizes the partnership between Technip and Kerr-McGee, which has pioneered and delivered three generations of spar technology to the deepwater Gulf of Mexico during the past decade.
Technip and Kerr-McGee have developed a total of five production spars, using three different designs, each pioneered by the two companies. The world’s first production spar used what is called now the “classic” spar design and was installed in 1997 at the Kerr-McGee-operated Neptune field in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The companies cooperated to develop the world’s first application of truss spars at the Kerr-McGee-operated Nansen and Boomvang fields in 2001. Another truss spar for the Gunnison field began production in 2002. The year 2004 brought another world’s first with the development and delivery of the third generation spar called “cell spar” for the Kerr-McGee-operated Red Hawk field. A sixth spar, using the truss design, is currently under construction for another deepwater hub at Kerr-McGee’s 100% - owned Constitution field.
While Technip and Kerr-McGee were the first in the world to pioneer each of the three generations, other producers have also adopted this technology. In total, of the 13 spars installed in the Gulf of Mexico, Technip has constructed 10 of them (and is currently in the process of constructing the 11th) and has developed and implemented the most advanced technologies for deep water including associated mooring and riser systems.
Lastly, Technip has just crossed a new milestone in spar deployment with the recent signature of a contract with Murphy Oil for the construction of a spar for the Kikeh field, in Malaysia. This will be the first spar installed outside the Gulf of Mexico.
Daniel Valot, Chairman and CEO of Technip, said: “Creative and empowered people working together can deliver cost effective solutions for developing deepwater fields. This successful business relationship is made possible by the high level of cooperation established by our project teams and management working together to find solutions to the challenges of deepwater development. It is an honor and a privilege to be associated with Kerr-McGee in this award.”
Founded in 1969, the Offshore Technology Conference covers state-of-the-art technology for offshore drilling, exploitation, production and environmental protection. OTC is the world’s foremost event for the development of offshore resources. It takes place every year (first week of May) in Houston and attracts more than 50,000 attendees from all over the world.
Spar evolution sketch available upon request.