• The King’s Quay floating production system (FPS) will be moored in Green Canyon Block 433 in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico, US.

Murphy Oil holds a 50% stake in King’s Quay FPS, while the remaining 50% interest is held by private equity firm Ridgewood Energy Corporation.

Construction of the FPS hull has been underway at Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Ulsan facility in South Korea since July 2019.

Scheduled for commissioning in the first half of 2022, the King’s Quay FPS will be capable of processing up to 80,000 barrels of oil and up to 100 million cubic feet (Mcf) of gas a day.

It will be tied-back with three deep-water fields in the Green Canyon area,  namely Khaleesi, Mormont and Samurai.

Project Gallery

The King’s Quay FPS is also intended to host additional subsea developments in the Green Canyon area in the future.

King’s Quay FPS project background

The King’s Quay FPS project was initiated by LLOG Exploration in 2018 as part of its plan to develop mid-size oil and gas discoveries in the Green Canyon area.

Murphy Oil acquired the US Gulf of Mexico oil and gas assets as well as King’s Quay FPS project from LLOG Exploration in May 2019.

Murphy Oil acquired a total of 26 blocks containing seven producing fields and four development projects in the Grand Canyon and Mississippi Canyon areas of the Gulf of Mexico from LLOG Exploration Offshore and LLOG Bluewater Holdings for $1.2bn (£950.7m).

Details of the Khaleesi, Mormont and Samurai offshore fields

Discovered in 2017, the Khaleesi and Mormont offshore fields are located in 1,189m-deep waters within Green Canyon Blocks 345, 389, 390, 434 and 478.

Murphy Oil became the operator of the Khaleesi/Mormont field development with 34% ownership interest, following the acquisition of Grand Canyon oil assets from LLOG Exploration in May 2019. Ridgewood Energy is the other stakeholder of Khaleesi/Mormont development.

The Khaleesi and Mormont fields are estimated to contain approximately 100 million barrels of oil equivalent (Mboe) and 65Mboe resources, respectively.

The Samurai field located in 1,056m-deep waters in Green Canyon Block 432 was discovered in 2009.

Murphy Oil is also the operator of the field with 50% ownership interest, while the remaining 50% stake is held by Ridgewood Energy, which it acquired from BHP Holdings in August 2019.

The estimated hydrocarbon resources at the Samurai field are approximately 90Mboe.

Khaleesi/Mormont and Samurai field developments

The Khaleesi/Mormont development project will include a total of seven subsea wells tied-back to the King’s Quay FPS. Of the seven wells, four development were already drilled by LLOG Exploration before Murphy Oil acquired operatorship.

The Samurai field will be developed through four subsea wells tied-back to the King’s Quay FPS.

King’s Quay FPS location and design details

The King’s Quay deep-water, semi-submersible FPS will be located in Green Canyon Block 433 at a distance ranging between 6.5km and 10km from the Khaleesi, Mormont and Samurai offshore fields.

The hull of King’s Quay FPS is being manufactured on the basis of Exmar Offshore’s OPTI®-11000 design. The weight of the hull will be approximately 11,000 tonnes (t) and the hull design will feature four five-sided columns fixed to a ring-shaped pontoon.

The two-level deck of the FPS will house topside modules for processing oil, gas, and water.

Oil and gas transportation from the King’s Quay FPS

The oil and gas processed at the King’s Quay FPS will be transported onshore through a subsea pipeline network operated by Genesis Energy, a midstream oil and gas company based in Houston, Texas.

Murphy Oil and its partners entered into an agreement with Genesis Energy to provide downstream transportation services for the entire crude and natural gas output of the King’s Quay FPS in December 2019.

The crude oil will be sent either to the Cameron Highway Oil Pipeline System (CHOPS) or the Poseidon Oil Pipeline System, though Genesis Energy’s Shenzi lateral pipeline.

CHOPS has reception stations at Texas City and Port Arthur in Texas, while the Poseidon pipeline drains oil at Houma in Louisiana.

The natural gas from the King’s Quay FPS will be sent through the Anaconda Gathering System to the Nautilus gas pipeline system which is connected to the Neptune natural gas processing plant in south Louisiana.

Contractors involved

Hyundai Heavy Industries was awarded the King’s Quay FPS construction contract in October 2018.

Exmar Offshore, a subsidiary of Exmar Group, is providing engineering and construction supervision services for the King’s Quay FPS project.

Audubon Companies received a contract to provide detailed design, engineering, and construction as well as procurement services for the top sides of the King’s Quay FPS in October 2019.

COSCO SHIPPING will transport the hull of the King’s Quay FPS from South Korea to the Gulf of Mexico on semi-submersible vessel Xiang He Kou in 2021, under a contract signed with Hyundai Heavy Industries in July 2019.

GATE Energy was contracted by Murphy Oil to provide commissioning services for the King’s Quay FPS project in August 2019.