Byron Energy begins loadout of Gulf of Mexico platform

Oil and gas company Byron Energy has begun the loadout of the South Marsh Island 58 G platform which will be installed in the Gulf of Mexico in the next four weeks.

Byron said on Tuesday that a coordination document was approved on 4 June 2020 which allows the company to set the production platform, lay oil and gas pipelines, and drill up to four wells.

On 9 June 2020, a material barge will arrive at a construction yard in Louisiana to begin the loadout of the SM58 G platform jacket pilings.

Once the pilings are loaded and secured, the barge will be moved to the primary construction yard, also in Louisiana, and the jacket will be loaded out. A second barge will carry the deck to the SM58 block where the Triton Offshore Hedron derrick barge will meet the material barges.

On location, the jacket will be set in place over the existing SM58 G1 well, pinned to the seafloor and then the deck will be lifted into place on top of the jacket and welded down.

With no weather delays, the entire operation is expected to take about 20 days from initial piling loadout to final demobilization of the derrick barge.

According to the company, the current schedule calls for pipeline operations to begin around 1 July. Completion operations using the EOD 264 jack-up rig are anticipated to begin in mid to late July.

Byron completed the drilling of this well in early October 2019. It encountered a true vertical thickness net pay of 301 feet in the Upper O Sands. Mud log data indicated a total hydrocarbon-bearing interval thickness in the Lower O section between 180 and 250 feet.

Due to hole conditions, the Lower O sand interval was not logged in, so SM58 G1 will be the primary target of a future well.

The SM58 G1 well was mudline suspended so that it could be completed and placed in production after the G platform is set.

Byron is the operator of in the SM58 block with a 100 per cent working interest and 83.33 per cent net revenue interest above 13,639 feet subsea.

Below 13,639 feet subsea, Byron has a 50 per cent interest and 41.67 per cent net revenue. To date, all identified drilling opportunities on the SM58 lease were above 13,639 feet.

Maynard Smith, Byron CEO, said: “This loadout and installation marks the beginning of the second phase of our construction program at SM58.

“Even with all of the recent issues in the oil industry, our team in Lafayette, Louisiana, has been able to deliver a top-quality nine slot production platform capable of handling 8,000 barrels of oil per day and 80 million cubic feet of gas per day on time and on budget.

“The construction process has progressed very smoothly, and we are excited that the time to set the G Platform has arrived. Our primary goal right now is to bring the G1 well into production”.