TotalEnergies fires up Argentinian offshore project letting Fenix fuel ‘Land of Fire’ with more gas

France’s energy giant TotalEnergies has powered an energy project at an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland up with new gas resources by starting production from a field in southern Argentina. This gas project is located 60 km off the coast of Tierra del Fuego, which is interpreted as ‘Land of Fire’ in English.

Following a final investment decision (FID) for the Fenix gas development project, Rosetti Marino won an engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning (EPCC) contract for a platform, consisting of a topside, jacket, and foundation piles for the production of 10 million m3/day of gas.

At the start of 2024, the jacket and topside left the firm’s yard and set sail toward TotalEnergies’ gas field in Tierra del Fuego. Once these parts reached their destination, four ships, led by Heerema’s Aegir heavy lift vessel, completed the installation work for the Fénix platform in a 70-meter water depth. 

Given the size of the project, the logistics and the installation of the 4,800-ton platform were carried out in two phases, with the first stage, which covered the installation of the jacket with four piles in January, followed by the lift and setting of the 1,500-ton deck topside. The first gas from the platform, designed to be operated from shore without a permanent crew, was expected in November 2024.

However, TotalEnergies confirmed the production start-up from the Fenix field in September 2024, as a low-cost, low-emissions development, with a carbon intensity of 9 kg CO2e/boe, leveraging on the existing infrastructure. This field is part of the Cuenca Marina Austral 1 (CMA-1) concession, in which the French energy giant holds a 37.5% operated interest, alongside its partners, Harbour Energy (37.5%) and Pan American Energy (25%).

With a production capacity of 10 million cubic meters per day (70,000 boe/d), gas produced at Fenix is sent through a 35-kilometer subsea pipeline to the TotalEnergies-operated Véga Pléyade platform and subsequently treated onshore at the Río Cullen and Cañadon Alfa facilities, also operated by the company.

Javier Rielo, Senior Vice President of Americas, Exploration & Production at TotalEnergies, commented: “The start-up of Fenix production safely and ahead of schedule, only two years after FID, demonstrates the capacity of our company to deliver its projects.

“Fenix will contribute to maintaining our gas production plateau in Tierra del Fuego and ensure a reliable supply to the Argentinean gas market. With its low break-even and low carbon intensity, Fenix perfectly matches the company’s low-cost and low-emission strategy.”

Recently, TotalEnergies bolstered its stake in the Orange Basin and hit a new milestone in the Gulf of Mexico, alongside Chevron as the operator, with 20,000 psi (20K) technology by bringing oil and natural gas from one of the industry’s first ultra-high pressure projects to the market.

Aside from working on its oil and gas projects, the Ftrnch player has also been growing its liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply business with more offtake deals, including the ones inked with China’s CNOOC and Türkiye’s BOTAŞ.