The Morpeth project received official sanction from British-Borneo in February 1997. Model tests were executed in April, and first steel was cut in July. The keel was laid in October and the pile foundations were installed in November. The hull was loaded out in mid-July 1998 and installed using McDermott’s DB50 derrick barge in DP mode on August 1. After landing the oil/gas export catenary risers on hull porches, the deck was lifted onto the hull on August 8. First oil was produced two months later, after the facility was abandoned three times for hurricanes, one of which passed directly over the platform. Time from project sanction to first oil was 21 months. The Morpeth SeaStar developed by Atlantia Offshore Ltd., the first TLP without surface completions, was successfully installed in 1998 in 1700-ft water at a cost of less than $100 million. The SeaStar was selected by Morpeth field operator British-Borneo.
Morpeth, Gulf of Mexico, British Borneo, America(North),