Offshore inspection of Murphy’s giant new platform ahead of first oil

U.S. offshore safety and environmental enforcement agency has conducted an inspection of Murphy Oil’s King’s Quay platform to ensure all systems are in place before it can begin production, which is slated for the first half of the year.

Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) inspectors and engineers conducted an offshore regulatory pre-production inspection of Murphy Oil’s King’s Quay floating production system (FPS) platform on February 2-3.

The giant platform was built by Hyundai Heavy Industries at its Ulsan facility in South Korea. Following the completion, the platform sailed away on board a COSCO Shipping-owned vessel at the end of the second quarter to Texas where it arrived in September 2021.

The semi-submersible FPS is now currently moored in Green Canyon Block 433 in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, about 175 miles south of New Orleans.

“The first offshore follow-up inspection is a very crucial time in the installation of a new production platform in the Gulf,” said BSEE Houma District production supervisor, Micah Charpentier.

“It is vital that our team follows up on items or discrepancies onboard the facility including processes, parts installations, components, and safety devices to ensure they represent those of the initial permit submitted by the operator.”

BSEE conducted an initial dockside pre-production inspection of King’s Quay in Ingleside, Texas in September 2021, which was required before the platform could sail to its final mooring site. During the dockside inspection, inspectors verified that safety equipment, components, and production processes aboard the structure were constructed as planned, met industry standards, and complied with federal regulations.

Corrections to any discrepancies or items of concern were verified during this offshore inspection to ensure all safety and environmental systems are properly in place before King’s Quay can begin production. The facility has the capacity to process 80,000 barrels of oil per day and 100 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.

“This follow-up inspection is another example of the vital work that BSEE does to ensure that new oil and gas production facilities are safe and environmentally sound,” said BSEE Houma District Manager Amy Pellegrin.

Having completed the follow-up initial offshore pre-production inspection, the King’s Quay FPS is on schedule to start regular production in mid-2022 and is expected to handle production from the Khaleesi, Mormont, and Samurai fields within the Green Canyon area. The Khaleesi/Mormont project will include a total of seven subsea wells and Samurai of four wells tied back to the King’s Quay FPS.