THE XLP PLATFORM: THE KEY TO OPTIMIZING FLOATING PRODUCTION PROJECTS

Background Historically, deepwater floating production projects have taken on the order of 6 to 8 years from the testing of confirmation wells to initial production. This long delay in obtaining positive cash flow has an obvious large negative impact on project economics. A better project approach has long been needed to speed up project completion and oil production. A novel platform design has recently been proposed which offers faster production and improved project financial returns.

The Existing Project Approach Currently mobile offshore drilling units are used to drill the discovery and confirmation wells. In some cases, additional wells are drilled while the rig is available. These mobile drilling rigs have very high day rates, so extended well tests generally are not performed or are minimized. Sufficient testing is performed to make reasonably accurate predictions of the reservoir and production characteristics for the discovery and the wells shut in awaiting design and construction completion. Following the well testing, extensive analysis is required, which can take multiple years to determine production equipment. Once the characteristics of the production train and the means of product delivery are determined, a purpose-built floating platform is designed and then construction started. These steps can take additional multiple years to complete. As a consequence, considerable expense is incurred over multiple years before any income occurs.

The X-Leg Platform (XLP) - The Better Project Approach A floating platform with a standardized design, good motion characteristics, and a very large single-level deck is the key to realizing earlier production. The new X-Leg Platform (XLP) design provides this key, and the following are its benefits. With the XLPs large, single-level, flat deck, facilities layout and access to equipment are optimized. Using a standard XLP design minimizes engineering and construction time. Early platform availability permitted by using a standardized XLP design allows the deck to be configured for drilling additional wells and obtaining early production at the same time reservoir characteristics are being evaluated. If changes are indicated for the production train, they are readily made by exchanging or adding equipment. For other types of platforms with multilevel decks, such changes are quite involved and often completely impractical.

The XLP A Better Approach Page 2 of 2 The standardized XLP design, with its unique methods for inshore assembly and offshore deployment, offers fast completion inshore and fast installation offshore, both without requiring the lifting of a heavy integrated deck. The construction of an XLP does not require a graving dock or a highly sophisticated yard, but some key components may require importation. Local content can easily be maximized regardless of location. The barge-like deck of the XLP can be loaded out from a shipyard by skidding from land next to a quay. All initial hook-up and commissioning can then be done while the deck is floating next to the quay, so labor costs and time for outfitting the deck are both significantly reduced. Because the XLPs primary structural components (deck, legs, and heave plate) are interconnected with pins while they are floating next to a quay, final assembly is simple and fast. Use of multiple facilities to fabricate the primary components minimizes the construction schedule. The fabrication & assembly cost per ton for the XLP will be significantly less (anticipated to be about 1/3 less) than for other types of minimum-motion platforms, and the XLPs total installed cost is expected to be 20-30% less. In its towout configuration, the draft of the XLP is only 20 ft and its top elevation is low enough to get under most bridges; therefore, almost any existing yard can be used for final assembly. Changes to production equipment on the deck of an XLP after it is on location offshore do not require heavy lift derrick barges, so they are relatively inexpensive and fast to make. Equipment on the deck of an XLP can be exchanged or upgraded using only rig cranes and skidding techniques. The excellent motion characteristics of the XLP permit the use of Surface BOPs (SBOPs) for both drilling and production. Drilling with a SBOP (together with a seabed isolation device) is safer, faster, and less expensive than drilling with a subsea BOP. The ability to use SBOP drilling techniques allows platform drilling contractors to compete for drilling contracts and reduces the cost of drilling wells. Deployment of the XLP offshore is accomplished primarily by water ballast manipulation. No solid ballast is required in the heave plate. Offshore deployment and connection to moorings on location can be accomplished within 5 days or less after towout using preset moorings. The flexibility the XLP system minimizes the risk of making an early construction commitment in order to accelerate the project schedule.

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