The West White Rose offshore oil extension project is about three quarters complete, with first oil on track for 2026.
Yesterday, media were shown just how much work has been done to date during a tour of the massive concrete structure at the Port of Argentia.
Even shrouded in fog from miles away, the concrete gravity-based structure, also know as the CGS, is an impressive piece of work.
Look up. Waaaay up. @VOCMNEWS pic.twitter.com/LaRiskMXNi
— Brian Callahan (@briancallahan67) October 11, 2023
That’s only amplified inside the 145-metre drill rig, which is lined with 35 thousand tonnes of rebar and 5,500 tonnes of mechanical outfitting.
The tower is about 80 per cent done, while the entire project, including the topsides, is closer to 75.
A key section was made in Marystown, and includes living quarters, a helipad, flare boom and lifeboat stations.
It will be added to the topsides at a site in Texas, before they head north to mate with the concrete base at the drill site.
There were real fears, of course, that the three-and-a-half-billion-dollar extension might be shelved amid the pandemic.
But bridge funding from government and rebounding markets got it back on track, much to the relief of the region, and 750 workers who clock-in every day.
The plan is tow the concrete base to the West White Rose site in 2025, with first oil expected a year later.
Mike Rudofsky
But weighing in at more than 200,000 tonnes, just how it can float at all is hard to fathom. Project managers Mike Rudofsky and Phil Winsor provided reassurance.
“That’s up to the engineers, really. Hopefully they got their calculations right, so we’re pretty confident this is going to float,” said Rudofsky. “Actually, we’re a hundred per cent confident.”
