On May 25, 2017, Mark Cizek, Project Manager for Williams, will make a presentation to the MTS Houston Section on deepwater hubs in the Gulf of Mexico.
Mark Cizek with Williams will discuss both new and mature hub facilities. He will illustrate his talk by comparing and contrasting the Kodiak tieback to the Devil's Tower truss spar with the Gunflint tieback to the Gulfstar One classic spar. With different commercial arrangements, work scopes and facility ages these two tieback projects offer interesting insights into how a producer might most effectively accomplish a subsea tieback to an existing hub facility. Mark will also discussion commercial aspects, operational arrangements and lessons learned from both projects.
The Gunflint oil field was developed as a long-distance subsea tieback to the Gulfstar One FPS in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Gulfstar One, also known as Tubular Bells, is located 135 miles southeast of New Orleans in 4000 feet of water. It was completed in 2014 and offers a flexible, reliable solution for deepwater producers. At over 21,000 tons, it is the first spar-based floating production systems with major components built entirely in the US. Gulfstar's standard design approach allows customers to reduce their cycle time from discovery to first oil. From sanctioning a project to completion, Gulfstar’s “plug and play” options allow delivery within 30 months.
Gulfstar One. Photo credit: Williams
The Devil’s Tower facility is a truss spar located in Mississippi Canyon Block 773, approximately 150 miles southwest of Mobile, completed in 2003. The facility, also owned by Williams, is capable of producing 60,000 barrels of oil per day and 60 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. In 5,610 ft. of water, this spar is the world’s deepest dry-tree platform. The hull is 586 feet in length, 94 feet in diameter and weighed over 11,000 tons at the time of installation whilst the topside weighs over 9,300 tons. The spar currently hosts production from several satellite fields including Devil’s Tower, Triton/Goldfinger and Kodiak, and has the flexibility to accommodate future subsea tiebacks.
About the Speaker
Mark Cizek joined Williams in 2006 and has held a variety of roles, including Project Manager of the Perdido export pipeline project, as well as Project Director for the construction and installation of the Gulfstar One (Tubular Bells) spar. Mark is currently Vice President and General Manager of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico for Williams, overseeing both onshore and offshore operations, as well as the commercial aspects of both operations. Prior to joining Williams Mark worked for Shell Exploration and Production and Technip.
Mark holds a Bachelor of Science in Maritime Systems Engineering from Texas A&M University - Galveston, and a Master of Business Administration from Rice University.
