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Gold/Mining/Energy : Strictly: Drilling and oil-field services -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: upanddown who wrote (64961)	4/19/2000 1:25:00 PM
From: Aggie	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95453

John T., hello, I beg your pardon - it wasn't HOWCO that won out, it was Mustang Engineering. Nevertheless, the important thing is that MDR didn't get it and it will be a substantial prize. I know for a fact that most of the staff at MDR were being distracted from other projects around the time of this bid package, to contribute to their chances of success. I find the Schlumberger RealTimeNews website to be one of the best fo O&G news updates. The link and story are below. Regards to all, Aggie slb.com Oil & Gas News: Archived Story Mustang Has Monster Win in Deep Gulf US engineer puts huge BP Amoco design contract in its back pocket By Blake Wright HOUSTON, Apr 14-20 (Upstream) - BP Amoco has selected Houston-based Mustang Engineering to conduct conceptual design work for its planned multi-billion dollar field development blitz in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Mustang outpaced competition from the likes of J Ray McDermott, Brown & Root and ABB for the coveted contract, which will involve conceptual work on development scenarios for Gulf discoveries such as Holstein, Mad Dog and the giant Crazy Horse find. The official scope of the planned five-year deal calls for Mustang to conduct preliminary topsides design and project services for appointed developments. Further details of the contract are being closely guarded pending an official announcement that could come next week. "Basically weïll be programme managers and topsides engineers for their deep-water initiative in the Gulf of Mexico," said a Mustang source. "Weïre not only the conceptual designers, weïll also be doing the detailed design work for all the topsides facilities. Weïre supposed also to be overall programme managers, so we will co-ordinate with the subsea, marine and mooring people." First on the agenda for the duo is Holstein in Green Canyon block 644 and Crazy Horse in Mississippi Canyon block 778. BP Amoco has said recently that both projects are moving along in the sanctioning process. Industry sources expect both to be funded by year-end. Popular speculation calls for both fields to be developed using spar technology but the scenarios remain under review. A spar at Holstein, in about 4400 feet of water, could potentially play host to subsea developments at Mad Dog in Green Canyon block 826 and Atlantis in Green Canyon block 699. Mad Dog and Atlantis are located in 6700 feet and 6000 feet of water respectively. "They call it a five-year programme, but it could stretch longer than that," the source added. "Itïll be some good work and hopefully kind of set Mustang apart. It was a good win for us." BP Amoco is believed to have discovered over 2 billion barrels of oil equivalent with the one Mississippi Canyon area and four Atwater Foldbelt finds it revealed last year. The company and its partners sunk successful appraisals of both Holstein and Mad Dog earlier in the year. BP Amoco is currently using Transocean Sedco Forex drillship Discoverer Enterprise to drill an appraisal of Crazy Horse. Early production scenarios for the giant field are understood to be under review. The heavy load of appraisal work has not diminished the supermajorïs appetite for exploration. The company will spud a wildcat at its Bison prospect in Green Canyon block 165 in May using Diamond Offshore semisub Ocean America. The rig is set to mobilise from Trinidad to the US Gulf where it will undergo slight modifications prior to beginning the well.