Oceaneering bags Trion gig in Mexico’s first deepwater AUV survey

BHP has awarded Oceaneering a contract for what has been described as first-ever deepwater Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) survey in Mexican waters.

Illustration: An Oceaneering AUV - Image source: Oceaneering
Illustration: An Oceaneering AUV – Image source: Oceaneering

Oceaneering, a U.S. provider of subsea services for the international offshore oil and gas industry, said on Monday the survey would be carried out over BHP’s Trion offshore oil development in Mexico.

The company will use its DP-2 Ocean Investigator vessel equipped with OS-VI AUV and light geotechnical capabilities.

“Work is currently underway and will continue for approximately 45 days. Oceaneering will also provide light geotechnical services by acquiring 6 m piston core soil samples.”

BHP in February said it had set aside $256 million for another offshore well following a January oil discovery at the Trion field.

BHP’s January appraisal well at the Trion was the first well drilled by an international operator in the Mexican deepwater. The well was drilled using the Deepwater Invictus drillship, owned by Transocean.

BHP – at the time known as BHP Billiton – in 2016 submitted a winning bid to acquire a 60 percent interest in blocks containing the Trion discovery. BHP owns 60 percent share in the field, with Mexico’s Pemex holding the remaining 40 percent.

According to previous reports, the Trion resource, once fully appraised, is expected to be in the top 10 fields discovered in the Gulf of Mexico in the last decade.

The Trion field, located in the Perdido belt in the Mexican part of Gulf of Mexico, was discovered in 2012. Earlier reports by Pemex put Trion’s total P3 reserves at around 485 million barrels of oil equivalent.

The first production from the Trion find could be expected in mid-2020s at the earliest. This will require a multi-billion dollar investment.

Offshore Energy Today Staff


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