ALMOST one year to the day after the Cannonball platform was commissioned, bp Trinidad and Tobago produced its first gas from the platform in March, the company’s publication bpTT Insider said.

This was achieved on March 12, following the successful completion of work on the export line which links Cannonball with the Cassia B Processing Hub.

When brought up to full production, the US $250 million Cannonball facility will account for 140 millions of barrels oil equivalent daily (mboed), 25 per cent of bpTT’s overall production.

ADRIAN CLARK, Vice-President, Developments,
makes a point to employees during the staff
celebration to recognised Cannonball’s
first gas achievement.

“This is a project of many firsts for bpTT,” said Robert Riley, Chairman and CEO, at a staff celebration to recognise the event.

“Cannonball has built a legacy of sustainability through the creation of distinct indigenous businesses in two sectors in Trinidad and Tobago: platform design and engineering, and fabrication.

“It also demonstrates our capacity to deliver a major project from start to finish here in Trinidad and Tobago.

“I congratulate all the men and women who have worked over the past four years to bring this project to fruition.”

Cannonball, Riley said, embodied the bp Group strategy -- to be the local energy company wherever in the world it operated.

It also underlined bpTT’s commitment to sustainable development.

Located 35 kilometres off Galeota Point, Mayaro, in water 231 feet deep, Cannonball is the first platform to be designed and constructed in Trinidad and Tobago.

The Cannonball wells will be high-rate gas producers, and will be among the most productive wells in bp’s global portfolio.

The fabrication industry, based at the La Brea Industrial Estate (Labidco), has trained residents from the La Brea community in welding and fabrication.

Adrian Clark, Vice-President, Developments, said that what made Cannonball landmark achievement was what it meant for TnT.

Not only has Cannonball helped put TnT on the map for “hub and spoke” platform design, for platform fabrication and for engineering, but it has also increased expertise among locals in these areas.

Curtis Mohammed, Project General Manager on Cannonball, said the project represented several milestones for bpTT over the last four years of its development.

“From the beginning in 2002, when the Ironhorse field was changed to Cannonball, to the achievement of first gas, Cannonball has enjoyed remarkable success, as well as strong challenges.”

Mohammed referred to the embedding of the project management team in Trinidad and the creation of new supply chain management approaches to ensure the direct participation of local capability at all stages.

Both Mohammed and Clark congratulated the project team and other departments within bpTT for their contribution to the project’s success.

With Cannonball in production, the Developments team now focuses on two other fields, Mango and Cashima.