Wintershall Dea, TotalEnergies eye 2024 start-up from newly-installed production platform offshore Argentina
(WO) – Wintershall Dea and its partners TotalEnergies (operator) and Pan American Energy have successfully completed the installation of the Fénix production platform, around 60 km off the coast of Tierra del Fuego, in 70 m water depth.
Given the size of the project, the logistics and the installation of the 4,800-ton platform were carried out in two phases: first the installation of the jacket with four piles in January, followed by the successful lift and setting of the 1,500-ton deck topside.
Starting on Jan. 8, the deck was transported from the Rosetti Marino shipyard in Italy to Tierra del Fuego within a month on board the heavy transport ship HTV Interocean II. Four vessels were involved in the installation of both parts of the platform, led by Heerema’s heavy lift vessel Aegir. All work was completed safely and without incident.
The deck of the Fénix platform covers a surface area of 2,500 m2 and consists of five levels: the helipad, the upper deck, the main deck with the wellheads and instrument room, and the lower deck. The platform is designed to be operated from shore without the need for a permanent crew.
“With the installation of the platform, we have completed the surface facilities part of the Fénix development project within the targeted schedule”, underlines Mariano Cancelo, Vice President Production and Development at Wintershall Dea in Argentina. “Our focus will now switch to the next step, which is the drilling of three production wells”, he says.
The drilling of the wells will be executed with a jack-up drilling rig which will be temporarily located next to the Fénix platform. First gas production is envisaged in November 2024.
Fénix is part of the world’s southernmost gas production concession CMA-1 in which Wintershall Dea and TotalEnergies (operator) each hold a 37.5 per cent share while Pan American Energy holds the remaining 25%.
Wintershall Dea has been active in Argentina for 45 years. Today, the company has stakes in onshore and offshore fields in Neuquén and Tierra del Fuego and with these contributes significantly to Argentina’s energy supply. With a total production of about 66,000 boed, Wintershall Dea is one of Argentina’s main gas producers.
“The successful installation of the production platform marks another significant milestone for the Fénix field development, which keeps the project on track for the planned first gas in Q4 2024”, says Manfred Boeckmann, Managing Director of Wintershall Dea Argentina. “Fénix represents a material pillar for the growing domestic gas production and will support Argentina to meet the increasing demand and to offset imports, by contributing significant natural gas volumes for more than 15 years to the country’s long-term energy supply”, Boeckmann adds.
