Type:
Oil & Gas
Design:
Fixed steel jacket
Installed:
2004
Facility:
Production
Water Depth:
496
meters
Country:
USA - Houma District
Block:
SOUTH TIMBALIER AREA 17. Block 308
Intro
Tarantula is a subsea tie-back development located in the Gulf of Mexico, producing oil and gas through the Ursa tension leg platform. First production began in the early 2000s. The development has no standalone surface installation and relies entirely on the Ursa host facility for processing and export.
Field
The Tarantula Field lies in the Mississippi Canyon area near the Ursa development. Reservoirs are deepwater Miocene turbidite sandstones. The field is relatively small and developed as a satellite accumulation tied back to maximise recovery using existing infrastructure at Ursa.
Facilities
The Tarantula development consists of subsea production wells equipped with subsea trees and connected via flowlines and umbilicals to the Ursa TLP. Subsea manifolds gather production and route it to the host platform. At Ursa, processing includes multi-stage separation, oil stabilization, and gas compression. Oil is exported via the Ursa oil pipeline system to onshore Louisiana, while gas is exported through the Ursa gas pipeline network into the Gulf Coast grid. Produced water is treated prior to discharge at the host facility. Subsea control systems use electro-hydraulic umbilicals for remote operation. The development may include water or gas injection wells for reservoir support. By leveraging Ursa’s infrastructure, Tarantula minimises capital expenditure while maintaining reliable long-term production.
Similar Platforms
Image Source: US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. (All rights belong to the original owner.)
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