Helix Energy Solutions has begun the oil and gas production from its Phoenix field in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

The company is in the process of ramping up production from the four subsea wells in the field.

Helix acquired the field, formerly called Typhoon, in 2006 following destruction of the field’s tension-leg platform by Hurricane Rita in 2005.

Helix has constructed the Helix Producer I dynamically-positioned Floating Production Unit (HPI) for the purpose of producing the Phoenix field and other oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico.

The HPI is designed to economically produce marginal fields while mitigating future storm damage risk and it incorporates a disconnectable turret system that allows the vessel to disconnect from the production buoy in the case of an emergency.

The flexibility of the FPU concept was demonstrated on the deployment of the HPI as a rapid-response vessel during the BP Macondo oil spill response in 2010.