U.S. Department of the Interior Minerals Management Service Gulf of Mexico OCS Region NEWS RELEASE

MMS Announces First Approval of Use of Synthetic Moorings
as New Technology

The Minerals Management Service today announced that it approved a deepwater oil and gas project that includes the first permanent use of synthetic (polyester) moorings to anchor a platform to the seabed.  The approval came as part of a preliminary review of BP’s Deepwater Operations Plan (DWOP) for the “Mad Dog” development project in 4,420 feet of water.

The Mad Dog field is located in the Green Canyon Block 826 unit and will use a truss spar employing dry tree wells and the first permanent use in the Gulf of Mexico of synthetic moorings.  The synthetic mooring consists of high strength polyester fibers that provide an equivalent or greater level of protection as steel wire rope systems, while reducing the vertical loads on the spar hull.  The truss spar is held on location by an 11-line polyester taut-leg mooring configuration.

“This approval is an excellent example of how MMS can work with industry to enable the use of new cost effective technology while providing for safety and meeting MMS's regulatory responsibilities,” said MMS Director Johnnie Burton.

This DWOP approval involved a total system engineering review, emphasizing operational safety, environmental protection, and conservation of resources.  The MMS became convinced of the safety and reliability of this approach after participating in extensive testing and review.  The MMS previously participated in nine joint industry projects (JIPs) and studies on synthetic moorings with $765,000 in research funding directed towards this effort.  As part of these JIPs, the MMS worked with the United Kingdom's National Engineering Laboratory to study fatigue of polyester moorings and to evaluate the long-term durability of fiber ropes in a marine environment.  Additionally, MMS participated in and sponsored three workshops to increase the understanding and practical use of synthetic moorings worldwide.  These JIPs and workshops were instrumental in the development of American Petroleum Institute’s Recommended Practice (RP) 2SM (Synthetic Mooring) as an industry-wide recommended practice for the use of synthetic moorings.

MMS is the federal agency in the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages the nation's oil, natural gas and other mineral resources on the outer continental shelf in federal offshore waters.  The agency also collects, accounts for and disburses mineral revenues from federal and Indian leases.  These revenues totaled nearly $10 billion in 2001 and more than $120 billion since the agency was created in 1982.  Annually, nearly $1 billion from those revenues go into the Land and Water Conservation Fund for the acquisition and development of state and federal park and recreation lands.

-MMS-GOM-