LoneStar Energy Fabrication completes work on Big Foot extended tension-leg platform
LoneStar Energy Fabrication (LSEF) has completed work on the $5.1 billion Big Foot drilling platform that is ready to begin drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. LSEF was the primary fabricator of the 4,600-hp modular drilling rig. The extended tension-leg platform (ETLP) is the industry’s largest and will operate on the Big Foot oil and gas field, 225 miles south of New Orleans at a depth of 5,200 ft. The project took two years to complete.
“Big Foot is now onsite being moored and should begin drilling soon,” LSEF President Brian Shanklin said. “This was an amazing project that aligned extremely well with our fabrication, rig-up and commissioning capabilities. We had to compete against other, larger, more experienced and better known fabricators to win the Big Foot contract, but our proven ability to deliver high-quality work, on time and within or under budget helped us win the job.”
The platform cost approximately $5.1 billion, will house 200 workers and has the capacity to produce 75,000 bbl/day of oil and 25 million cu ft/day of gas. Standing more than 40 stories above the Gulf of Mexico and weighing in at more than 8,200 tons, it will operate in 5,200 ft of water. At that depth, pressures exceed 2,325 psi.
The company also served as the primary fabricator for the $5 billion Olympus project that required more than 650,000 manhours to complete. Olympus is now in operation 130 miles south of New Orleans and is known as the Mars B TLP DVA rig.
Additionally, LSEF just completed work on a 3,000-hp platform rig for a large Mexican oil company, and a second is being completed, tested and commissioned. Work is also under way on two 120-man living quarter projects along with work for other major oilfield service providers.
