Audubon to work on LLOG’s deepwater project in Gulf of Mexico

Houston-based Audubon Engineering, a provider of engineering, procurement, construction, and fabrication services, has entered into an agreement with LLOG Exploration Offshore to support its Salamanca floating production system (FPS) project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

In a statement earlier this week, Audubon said that its scope of work includes detailed design services, procurement, vendor equipment management, construction, pre-commissioning, and offshore commissioning support. It will be executed by Audubon’s local operating centres in New Orleans and Houston.

“Our history of partnership with LLOG goes back to 2006. As LLOG has grown from inshore facilities to offshore shelf to deepwater facilities, Audubon has grown with it,” said Ryan Hanemann, president of Audubon.

LLOG is acting as project manager for the Salamanca FPS Infra LLC.

As reported earlier this year, LLOG decided to reuse what was previously the world’s deepest floating production platform to develop its new deepwater project in the Gulf of Mexico.

Rather than building a new production unit, LLOG will repurpose the existing Independence Hub facility, marking the first time in the Gulf of Mexico that an operator will have accomplished such an undertaking for an existing semi-submersible production facility, according to Audubon. The project will reduce emissions by approximately 70 per cent compared to new unit construction.

The hull, topside truss, cranes, and lifeboats will be reused with minor modifications. All other topside equipment, including piping, instrumentation, and electrical systems, will be new and fit for purpose.

Earlier this month, a subsidiary of Singapore’s Keppel was also hired to work on the Salamanca project. Under its contract with LLOG, the shipyard will be in charge of demolition, hull modifications, and upgrades to key systems.

The column-stabilized Salamanca FPS will be located in Block 689 of the Keathley Canyon to tap the Leon and Castile discoveries. Situated at a water depth of approximately 6,400 ft., the deepwater platform will include processing facilities capable of 60,000 BOPD, 25,000 BWPD, and 40 MMSCFD of natural gas.

LLOG will obtain ABS A1 notation for the platform. Initial production from the joint development is expected in mid-2025.

A couple of months ago, Audubon was also hired by Shell to provide brownfield engineering and procurement (EP) services support for the Mars Corridor in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.