A Critical Assessment of Contracting Strategies and Cycle Times of Post-2014 Sanctioned Floating Platforms in the US Gulf of Mexico

Since 1986, about sixty Floating Production Systems (FPSs) have been installed in the US Gulf of Mexico (GoM). They include Spar, Semisubmersible, Tension Leg Platform (TLP) and Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) platforms. They have been installed in water depths ranging from 500 m to 3,000 m, and production rates ranging from 40,000 boepd to 250,000 boepd. A floating production platform is a major capital investment of a deepwater field development and presents a significant execution challenge. An Operator that opts to install a floating platform for a greenfield development must select a platform type, decide on a contracting strategy and establish credible cycle times for the Appraise, Select, Define and Execute phases of the field development. In their 2021 OTC paper (OTC 31115) the authors undertook a critical assessment of ten major field developments in the GoM, that were sanctioned between 2006 and 2014. They included all four major platform types. A comprehensive database of the field developments including host platform particulars, concept selection, contracting strategies, major engineering, fabrication and installation contractors and cycle times for the four development phases was presented for each project. In the current paper the authors add to the prior body of work, conducting a similar assessment of the seven floating platforms (Appomattox, Argos, Vito, King’s Quay, Anchor, Whale and Shenandoah) that were sanctioned between 2015 and 2021. Taken together, the two papers provide the industry with its most comprehensive accounting of the evolution of GoM floating production platforms, development strategies and cycle times. This information will assist Operators and Development Planners plan and benchmark future GoM deepwater developments with a floating platform. Emerging trends in GoM field developments, following the collapse of oil prices in 2014, and the industry pivot to Energy Transition are also addressed.