Assessment Still Underway on Big Foot Tendon Damage

Chevron Corp. continues to assess damage sustained by tendons on the company’s Big Foot’s tension leg platform (TLP).

Nine of the TLP’s tendons lost buoyancy and sunk to the ocean floor between Friday, May 29 and Thursday, June 4. The company is monitoring the remaining seven tendons, each of which is approximately one mile long, Chevron spokesperson Cameron Van Ast told Rigzone.

As part of its response, the company has deployed four remotely operated vehicles to assist with monitoring and assessment activities for as long as they may be required, the spokesperson said. Thirteen marine vessels are also supporting response operations. Chevron has set up a command center in Houston to manage the response with around 40 employees participating. A U.S. Coast Guard representative is serving as a liaison in the center.

The platform was not in the vicinity of the Big Foot field when the incident occurred. No fluids were released into the environment, as the tendons do not contain any hydrocarbons and are not connected to any subsea wells. No injuries occurred as a result of the incident.

The Big Foot platform is a dry-tree extended tension leg platform with an onboard drilling rig and production capacity of 75,000 barrels per day of oil and 25 million cubic feet per day of natural gas.

The incident has delayed the start of production from the Big Foot field, located about 225 miles south of New Orleans in approximately 5,200 feet of water.