Anchor Project: Best Practices and Lessons from Delivering the Offshore Installation Scope

Abstract

Abstract The Anchor floating production unit (FPU) is a Chevron Gulf of Mexico (GOM) facility located in about 5,000 ft. of water with a nameplate capacity of 75,000 bopd and 28 mmscfd with future expansion capability. The Anchor development plan consists of seven high pressure wells tied back to the FPU through dual flowlines from two drill centers with produced oil and gas transported via export pipelines. This paper will touch on best practices and learnings from FPU transportation and installation, hook-up and commissioning (HUC), as well as subsea flowlines, export pipelines and subsea equipment installations. This paper will explore the keys pillars that enabled the successful execution of the offshore scope. These include a carefully established contracting strategy, detailed multifunctional planning and management of interfaces, high performance focus in design and execution, disciplined scope and progress management and development of a strong project and safety culture. The Anchor offshore installation campaigns commenced in the second quarter of 2021 with all major work scopes completed by end of 2023. HUC will be completed by the first half of 2024. By establishing broad installation windows, the project was able to adjust execution campaigns for optimal weather conditions and vessel availability. Additionally, this flexibility enabled the project to mitigate impacts caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic. The contracting strategy and focus on core contractor competencies further reduced potential risks. Innovative solutions and actions taken to address the many challenges of executing a major capital project (MCP) that includes new technology during a global pandemic and market downturn will be discussed. For clarity, the following terms are used throughout this paper. High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) refers to equipment rated to pressures greater than 15,000 psi and/or temperatures equal to or greater than 350°F. Anchor is a high pressure project under the HPHT category. 20K refers to the Anchor project's technology development and qualification program.