Type:
Oil & Gas
Design:
TLP
Installed:
2018
Facility:
Production
Water Depth:
1,585
meters
Country:
USA - Houma District
Block:
WALKER RIDGE 60. Block 29
Intro
Big Foot is a deepwater tension leg platform (TLP) in the Gulf of Mexico, designed for high-pressure oil and gas production. It began production in 2018 and operates as a standalone host facility with subsea wells tied back for processing. The installation is vertically moored and connected to regional export pipelines for hydrocarbon transport.
Field
The Big Foot field lies in Walker Ridge, Gulf of Mexico, producing from Miocene-age sandstone reservoirs. The field is significant in scale, with complex reservoir conditions including high pressures and compartmentalization. Development required advanced engineering solutions, particularly for subsea systems and mooring design in ultra-deepwater conditions.
Facilities
Big Foot is based on a tension leg platform with a floating hull tethered to the seabed by vertical tendons, supporting dry-tree wellheads and enabling direct well intervention. Production wells are drilled from the platform and supplemented by subsea wells tied back via flowlines and manifolds. Fluids are transported through risers to topside facilities where multi-stage separation processes split oil, gas, and water. Oil is stabilized and exported via pipeline, while gas is compressed and transported through offshore gas networks. Produced water is treated and either discharged or reinjected. The platform includes water injection systems for reservoir pressure support. Subsea infrastructure includes manifolds, flowlines, and umbilicals providing control and chemical injection. The development incorporates robust design features to manage high-pressure conditions, including reinforced subsea equipment and specialized riser systems. Utilities include gas turbine power generation, chemical injection, and advanced control systems for monitoring and managing production and subsea operations.
Similar Platforms
Image Source: "Chevron Taps Worley for Ballymore Tie-Back Work in Gulf of Mexico" - Offshore Engineer [https://www.oedigital.com/] (All rights belong to the original owner.)
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