Atlantis PQ

History
Name: Atlantis PQ
Owner: BP plc
Operator:
Port of registry:  United States
Builder:
Laid down: 21 June 2004
Launched: 17 August 2007
Acquired: 17 August 2007
Maiden voyage: August 2006
In service: First Oil October 2007
Identification:
Status: Operational at 27°11′43″N 90°01′37″W / 27.195278°N 90.026944°W / 27.195278; -90.026944Coordinates: 27°11′43″N 90°01′37″W / 27.195278°N 90.026944°W / 27.195278; -90.026944
Notes: [1]
General characteristics
Class and type: ABS: A1, floating offshore installation
Tonnage: 30,882 metric tons
Displacement: 88,826 metric tons
Length: 129.07 m (423.5 ft)
Beam: 116.1 m (381 ft)
Draught: 26 m (85 ft)
Depth: 52 m (171 ft)
Capacity:
Crew: 60 berths
Notes: [1]

Atlantis PQ is a BP plc and BHP Billiton joint venture semi-submersible oil platform on permanent location over the Green Canyon Atlantis Oil Field in deepwater Gulf of Mexico, 190 mi (310 km) south of New Orleans. The "PQ" identifies the platform as being a production facility with crew quarters.[2]

The vessel's hull was designed by GVA and built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in Okpo, South Korea. Its topsides modules were built in Morgan City, Louisiana with hull integration in Ingleside, Texas.[3]

Operating in depths of more than 2,100 metres (6,900 ft), Atlantis was the deepest moored semi-submersible platform in the world when it was installed. Independence Hub subsequently set a new record with its installation in 2,400 metres (7,900 ft) water depth.

Food & Water Watch lawsuit

As a result of the 2010 explosion of the semi-submersible Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and the subsequent oil spill, informants within BP came forward with allegations that safety practices at Atlantis PQ were flawed. Specifically, allegations have been laid against the plans and specs used in its construction, maintenance, and operation. Kenneth Abbott, a former BP contractor, reported that up to 80 percent of the engineering plans used to build and operate the installations were never authenticated by even BP engineers for safety and stability, and that over 80 percent of the plans for the underwater welds were never verified. Food & Water Watch, a US-based consumer interest group, filed a complaint with the US district court requesting an injunction to stop production on Atlantis PQ until these matters have been investigated.[4][5]

In August 2014, the case against BP Atlantis was dismissed by a U.S. circuit court. U.S. District Judge Lynn N. Hughes stated "BP never misrepresented -- much less knowingly distorted what it was doing,", finding that the case was ultimately about "paperwork wrinkles" instead of engineering shortcuts, adding [Abbott and the environmentalists] "have not blown a whistle," he said. "They have blown their own horn."[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "ABS Record: Atlantis PQ". American Bureau of Shipping. 3 February 2010. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  2. ↑ Bardex (January 8, 2003). "Bardex To Moor Atlantis PQ". Rigzone. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  3. ↑ Sharon H. Fitzgerald (March 21, 2007). "Texas Tea Flows Well in Coastal Bend". Business Images Coastal Bend. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  4. ↑ Driver, Anna (2010-05-17). "U.S. Regulators Sued Over BP's Atlantis Platform". Reuters. Houston, Texas. Archived from the original on 2010-05-18. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  5. ↑ Michael Williams (16 May 2010). "Deepwater Horizon's Blowout, Part 1". 60 Minutes (Interview: video). Interviewed by Scott Pelley. CBS. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  6. ↑ "BP Atlantis $256 Billion Whistle-Blower Case Dismissed".

Further reading

  • "BP Says Atlantis Platform Sets Sail in the Gulf of Mexico". Rigzone. August 9, 2006. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  • "Atlantis Platform, Gulf of Mexico, USA". Offshore Technology. 2010. Archived from the original on 23 May 2010. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  • "Atlantis". BP plc. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-11-01. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  • "Atlantis: Mastering the Deep". BP plc. 3 January 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-11-07. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  • "The Push Into the Deepwater Gulf". BP plc. 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-03-09. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  • "BP Commissions Atlantis Platform, Begins Oil and Gas Production". BP plc. 18 December 2007. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  • "GVA27000 Atlantis - Semi-submersible production and quarter unit:". GVA. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
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