Total Austral began the offshore campaign for the installation of the 35-kilometer pipeline in the vicinity of the Vega Pléyade platform in Tierra del Fuego
Fénix takes its first steps and lays its foundations in the Argentine Sea. The most important offshore gas project in Argentina and operated by Total Austral began operations for the installation of the 35-kilometer pipelines that will evacuate the gas produced by the field.
The works began in the Argentine Southern Sea with a team of experts from Saipem and Total Austral in the Normand Commander (support ship in operations in the open sea) that carried out the installation of the first sleeper of the future submarine pipelines in the area near the Vega Pléyade platform. These concrete pieces will ensure the stability of the ducts in sandy areas.
According to the technical teams of Total Austral in charge of the project, the plan planned for the next few days will include the installation of the remaining eight sleepers, estimating to finish this phase in the first week of July. With this activity of the ship Normand Commander, who recovered “the sleepers” in the port of Punta Quilla, Total Austral formally began the offshore campaign of Fénix by installing the first one on June 27.
The same technical team of Total Austral and the contractor SAIPEM will be in charge of the installation of two submarine lines, whose tubes are completed and available for transfer to the coasts of Tierra del Fuego. These consist of a 4″ line, manufactured in Argentina and a 24″ line manufactured in Greece, both with a length of 35 km.
Fénix is progressing according to the initially planned schedule. As planned, work will begin in August on the laying of the submarine pipeline that will connect the new platform to the Vega Pléyade platform. This pipe will be laid with the ship Castorone, a naval device of 323 meters in length considered among the largest in the world and specially prepared for this type of maneuvers.
In a second stage, the focus will be on the team in charge of the transport and installation of the production platform that is currently being built at the Rossetti Marino shipyard in the port of Ravenna, Italy. The transfer of the platform to Argentina and its subsequent installation will be in charge of the company Heerema and its ship Aegir. Finally, the three horizontal wells will be drilled, which will enter production at the end of 2024.
Fénix represents more than US$ 700 million of investment, being currently the main energy project in the country. Through its three wells, it will provide a production of 10 million cubic meters of natural gas per day, which means a very significant increase in the supply and availability of gas for Argentina.
