Canadian operator Cenovus Energy is preparing for a second quarter towout of the 210,000-tonne concrete gravity structure (CGS) that will act as the foundation for its $2.8 billion West White Rose project offshore Newfoundland & Labrador.
Built by the consortium of SNC Lavalin-Dragados-Pennecon, construction began on the CGS in 2022. It was recently moved out of dry dock and into a temporary staging site at Arnold’s Cove where the dry ballasting will be completed before the trip to the field site.
Cenovus Chief Executive Jon McKenzie told investors last week that the 25,000-tonne deck is also nearing sail away. The facilities were built at Kiewit Offshore Services’ Ingleside yard in Texas. The topsides will be transported to the Bull Arm yard in Newfoundland.
“In June, we will tow the gravity-based structure out to the field, and we will place it on the seabed,” he said. “Then, in July, we’ll bring the topsides from Bull Arm, and we’ll mate it with the gravity-based structure.”
Cenovus tapped Allseas to install the West White Rose deck atop the CGS. The contractor will utilize its Pioneering Spirit vessel for the work.
“From there, there’s a few months to do of commissioning and startup work,” added McKenzie. “And then in quarter four, we’ll start drilling, with first production expected in the second quarter of 2026. It’s a pretty exciting time, and it’s becoming very real very, very quickly.”
Aker Solutions towed the CGS to Arnold’s Cove where thousands of tonnes of ballast rock will be placed inside the CGS by Van Oord flexible fallpipe vessel Nordnes. Once the ballast work is completed, Aker will tow it to West White Rose using the subsea vessel Olympic Triton.
Recoverable volumes at West White Rose are estimated at 115 million bbl of oil. Production from the field is expected to average 80,000 B/D and peak in 2028.
West White Rose is an extension of the original White Rose field, which was developed via subsea wells, comprising three drill centers tied back to the SeaRose floating production, storage, and offloading vessel. The West White Rose Project will access further resources to the west of the field, using a fixed drilling rig tied back to the SeaRose.
