UK-based energy services firm Wood is set to design the platform topsides for Trion, a greenfield development offshore Mexico from Australia’s Woodside Energy.
Wood secured the contract from engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) provider HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) for the detailed engineering of the topside facilities for the Trion floating production unit (FPU) in Mexican waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
“We are pleased to have been selected as the topsides engineering provider for Trion by Woodside Energy and the project's EPC contractor, HHI. Wood's innovative design process on the pre-FEED and FEED work positioned us well for the detailed engineering scope on Trion,” said John Day, president of oil, gas, and power at Wood.
"Applying a practical approach to decarbonization in the design process has been an important part of this project while ensuring safety and quality. Our team has a proven history with Woodside, having worked together for 2 decades, and our experience designing and delivering solutions for Trion will improve productivity, reduce emissions, and maximize the return on investment for our client,” he continued.
The deal’s value was not disclosed. Wood’s teams in Houston and Bogota, Colombia, will deliver the detailed topsides design work for the FPU project over the next 3 years.
"We are very pleased to reunite with Wood through the Trion FPU Project for the first time since we worked on the East Area Natural Gas Liquids Offshore Project in West Africa in 2005,” said Seon Mook Lim, engineering vice president of offshore engineering division at HHI.
“We are greatly enthusiastic about creating another EPC success story that will leave a lasting mark in the history of offshore oil and gas development. We look forward to continuing our relationship with Woodside as we embark on the Trion FPU project.”
Woodside announced its final investment decision (FID) to develop the $7.2-billion Trion discovery in the Mexican Gulf in June 2023. First oil from the area is targeted for 2028.
The FID was subject to Trion joint-venture approval and regulatory approval of the development plan by Mexican regulator Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos, which was granted in August 2023.
The Trion field is in the Perdido Fold Belt of the Gulf of Mexico, at a water depth of 2500 m about 180 km off the Mexican coastline and 30 km south of the US/Mexico maritime border. The greenfield Trion development is the first deepwater development in Mexico at a water depth of 2500 meters.
The development, when complete, will feature a four-column semisubmersible FPU with a production capacity of 100,000 BOPD and connect to a 950,000-bbl capacity floating storage and offloading vessel. Woodside estimates the field holds just under 500 million bbl of recoverable oil equivalent.
The field will be developed via 18 wells (nine producers, seven water injectors, and two gas injectors) drilled in the initial phase, with a total of 24 wells drilled over the project's life.
Contracts Flowing
Contract awards have flowed in the months following Woodside taking FID on the project and receiving regulatory approval. In October 2023, Woodside awarded a contract to TechnipFMC to supply infield flowlines and jumpers for the Trion project.
Multiple contracts were awarded in December. Gate Energy won the onshore commissioning contract for the project from HHI. The scope of the work includes recommissioning and commissioning planning and execution at HHI’s fabrication yard in Ulsan, South Korea.
Woodside awarded subsea systems specialist Trendsetter Engineering a contract to provide subsea systems for the project. Scope of work includes the engineering, design, manufacture, and installation support of the company’s subsea connectors for the production and gathering systems, multiple production and injection manifolds, and their foundations.
Woodside also awarded Mexican company Eseasa Offshore a contract for supplying shore base facilities and services for its operations supporting the project. Eseasa will provide a wide range of services out of its shore base on the Panuco River coastline. The scope of work includes shore base infrastructure, operations planning and management for vessel mooring, load and discharge, freight and material management, and dedicated laydown and staging areas.
