The oil companies
Total (France), Wintershall Dea (Germany) and PAE
will begin producing
natural gas
in
November
with the
Fénix project, in Tierra del Fuego
, after disbursing
investments of about 700 million dollars
.
This week, the companies managed to install
a 4,800-ton oil platform built in Italy
in the middle of the Argentine Sea
.
It was located about 60 kilometers from the coast of
Tierra del Fuego
, in waters 70 meters deep.
The Fénix project is expected to reach a peak production of about
10 million cubic meters per day (MMm3/d)
of natural gas, which would represent an
extra 7% of the national production
that Argentina had last winter - about 143 MMm3/d-.
The project belongs 37.5% to Total, another 37.5% to Wintershall Dea and 25% to PAE.
During the first phase of development three wells will be drilled from an unmanned wellhead platform.
Production will be evacuated via a 24-inch
underwater multiphase line to the
Vega Pléyade
platform
, located 35 kilometers away.
The injection into the national system will be through the
San Martín Gasduct
, which has available capacity due to the decrease in other wells.
The Fénix oil platform is 60 kilometers off the coast of Tierra del Fuego.
Photo: Wintershall Dea
"Given the size of the project, the logistics and installation of the platform were carried out in two phases: first the installation of the
jacket
with four piles during January, followed by the lifting and placement of the upper deck, weighing 1,500 tons," the participating companies communicated.
"Starting on January 8, the deck was transported from the
Rosetti Marino shipyard in Italy
to Tierra del Fuego, within a month, aboard the
heavy transport vessel HTV Interocean II
. Four ships participated in the installation of both parts of the platform, led by
Heerema's Aegir heavy lift vessel
. All work was completed
safely and without incident
," the German Wintershall Dea highlighted in a statement.
The Fénix platform deck covers an area of
2,500 square meters
and consists of five levels: the
helipad
, the upper deck, the main deck with the wellheads and instrument room, and the lower deck.
The platform is designed to be operated from land
,
without the need for a permanent crew.
Although
offshore oil exploration was harshly questioned by
environmental
groups
, oil and natural gas extraction activity in the Argentine Sea has been going on for more than 50 years, without incident.
In fact, about
15% of last year's gas production was offshore
.
The economic possibilities that opened up after the last bidding for areas - in 2019 - could mean
another Vaca Muerta
, if the exploration, which will take about a decade, is successful.
Starting in the 2030s, Argentina could add
exports
of more than 20,000 million dollars and have employment for another 30,000 people
offshore
.
Being positioned "in front" of
Namibia
, where oil resources were found, geologists assume that fuels are also deposited on this side of the Atlantic Ocean.
NE