Mexican state-run company Pemex is reportedly expected to start operations on the Abkatun-A2 offshore oil platform located in Bay of Campeche in April 2019.
Constructed by US engineering firm McDermott International, the platform will be delivered to allow the commencement of operations by the above-mentioned date, McDermott Mexico director Alfredo Carvallo told Reuters in an interview.
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Pemex has been focused on bolstering its offshore operations, primarily in shallow waters along the southern Gulf of Mexico.
Bringing the new platform online will allow Pemex to replace another platform, which was damaged by a large fire in 2016.
Carvallo said: “McDermott is 100% vertically integrated. We were in charge of engineering here in Mexico; purchases, construction, transportation and installation. We will deliver the platform ready for operation.”
He added that the completion of the Abkatun-A2 platform involved a $454m investment over two years.
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By GlobalDataMcDermott received the contract for the provision of engineering, procurement, construction & installation (EPCI) services for the platform in June 2016.
Located at water depths of 124ft, the facility has the capacity to handle up to 220,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude output and 352 million cubic feet a day of natural gas.
The 15,000t Abkatun-A2 platform will serve Pemex’s shallow-water oilfields, including Ku-Maloob-Zaap, located in the Campeche Bay.
McDermott built the platform near the Port of Altamira in northeastern Tamaulipas state, while the structures were manufactured at its fabrication facility in the region.
The engineering company expects to transport the platform to its final location in November. Thereafter, it will be installed and tested in the subsequent months.
The EPCI contract builds on the existing relationship between the companies. Over the last decade, McDermott built ten platforms for Pemex and is working on two more infrastructure projects for the company.
Meanwhile, Pemex reported a marginal increase in its crude oil output to 1.825Mbpd during the third quarter.
