Control of blow out well
BP (British Petroleum) has hired the US/Danish owned Floating Production Unit Helix Producer I to gain control over the oil from the Macondo well in the Mexican Gulf. The well blew out on April 20 and since then oil has been pouring out from the wellhead 1,500 metres below the surface. The Helix Producer I has been working on a well only some 90 km from the Macondo well. BP has managed to place a several hundred ton dome over the well leading the oil to a pipeline, which will now be connected to the Helix Producer I. The oil will be pumped into the shuttle tanker Loch Rannoch (128,700 DWT), which is on long-term charter to BP. The former Mærsk-owned tanker, now in the hands of Knut Knutsen OAS, Haugesund, usually serves the Schiehallion field in the Atlantic Ocean. Its expected that the Helix Producer I and Loch Rannoch will be employed until September when two relief wells, which began to be drilled on May 2 and June 14, will reach the reservoir. The Helix Producer I is owned by Kommandor Romo LLC, which is a joint venture between Danish Kommandor Rømø K/S (Hays Maritime) and Helix Energy Solutions Group. The highly advanced vessels will work on DP while serving the Macondo well. The blowout of the Macondo well has led to a six month ban on deepwater drilling by President Barack Obama.
Source:shipgaz