PHOTO: Giant Hebron platform launched in Canada

hebron, nalcor, exxon, canadaHebron, the giant concrete platform bound for the Atlantic waters offshore Canada, has been shown to visitors at a chain cutting ceremony hosted by ExxonMobil on Tuesday.

The platform launching ceremony, ahead of the imminent sailaway to the platform’s offshore location, was held at Nalcor Energy’s Bull Arm Fabrication site.
Among the attendees were representatives of ExxonMobil, Chevron, Suncor,Statoil and Nalcor Energy.

The 750,000 tonne platform will soon be towed away to the Hebron site which lies 350 kilometers south-east of the Newfoundland and Labrador’s capital St John’s, in the Jeanne d’Arc Basin. It consists of the Hebron, West Ben Nevis and Ben Nevis fields. The Hebron project development costs have been estimated at $14 billion.

Estimated recoverable reserves in Hebron are put at 700 million barrels of, making it the second-largest field in the Jeanne d’Arc Basin after Hibernia.
Nalcor’s Bull Arm facilities have been used for project construction, including the gravity-based structure (GBS).

Once delivered to the final offshore location the platform is designed to remain fixed to the ocean’s floor through gravity, with integrated drilling and production topsides. The water depth at the Hebron field is 93 meters.

The sturdy facility, set to sail away in May, consists of a reinforced concrete structure designed to withstand sea ice, icebergs and meteorological and oceanographic conditions. It will have the capacity to store in excess of 1 million barrels of oil in storage compartments. First oil is expected later in 2017.

Offshore Energy Today Staff