DUTCH shipbuilder Damen has won a contract to supply offshore support tugs for Woodside Energy’s Trion oil field development in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America if you’ve been Trumped).
Woodside issued tenders for a 15-year time-charter contract for multi-purpose offshore support vessels for Trion, which is located in the Perdido Fold Belt, at a water depth of 2,500m approximately 180km off the Mexican coastline and 30km south of the US/Mexico maritime border.
The contract was won by Mexican company Chomex Marino, which in turn chose Damen’s Offshore Support Tug design. Chomex and Damen have been longstanding partners and the design was developed in response to Woodside’s requirements.
Damen will build the vessels at the Albwardy Damen shipyard in the United Arab Emirates, the yard meeting Woodside’s robust HSSEQ, project management and risk management standards, the partners say.
The new vessels will be 67 x 18 metres, with a bollard pull of 120 tonnes ahead and astern and 250m² of free deck space. Damen says the OST 120 has been developed from the keel up as a highly versatile vessel capable of a wide range of activities in the offshore energy sector.
Image: Damen
It has exceptional seakeeping and strong DP2-performance in severe offshore conditions, is capable of safely handling mooring lines and cargo hoses, hose maintenance, tanker assistance during tandem offloading operations, ROV deployment, standby services, oil spill response as well as a wide range of supply and replenishment missions such as crew and bulk cargo transfers.
A special feature of the OST 120 is the ability to store and transfer chemicals in-field, allowing Woodside to run their operations with one less chemical supply vessel and, as a result, a lower emissions footprint, Damen says.
Trion is a greenfield development that would represent the first oil production from Mexico’s deepwater, with potential for future discoveries to be tied back to Trion facilities.
The Trion project was discovered by PEMEX (Mexico’s state-owned petroleum company) in 2012. In 2017, BHP Petroleum and PEMEX signed an agreement for the development of the Trion discovery.
Following the merger with BHP Petroleum, Woodside continued the agreement with PEMEX for field development, having made a final investment decision to proceed: “The expected returns from the development exceed Woodside’s capital allocation framework targets and deliver enduring shareholder value.”
First oil is targeted for 2028.