Technip was awarded by Shell Offshore Inc. (“Shell”) an important engineering, procurement and installation contract for the development of subsea infrastructure for the Stones field. This field is located in the Walker Ridge area in the US Gulf of Mexico, at a water depth of approximately 2,900 meters (9,500 feet). This development will host the deepest floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit in the world and will be Shell's first FPSO in the Gulf of Mexico(1).

Technip will be in charge of installation of the subsea production system and Stones lateral gas pipeline(2), inclusive of associated project management, engineering and stalk fabrication.

Technip's operating center in Houston, Texas will perform the overall project management. The flowlines(3) and risers(4) will be welded at Technip's spoolbase in Mobile, Alabama. The offshore installation is expected to be performed in the second half of 2014 by the Deep Blue, Technip's deepwater pipelay vessel.

David Dickson, Technip's Senior Vice President, North America Region, has declared: “With greater depths come greater challenges for our clients and we are delighted to help Shell push back subsea frontiers by laying the deepest gas pipeline worldwide. With the award of this high-profile project, Technip confirms its subsea leadership and keeps differentiating itself through innovation to remain at the forefront of frontier projects.”

(1) This will be the second FPSO in the Gulf of Mexico, for which Technip installed the riser.

(2) The production system is comprised of dual 8-inch insulated flowlines associated with pipeline end termination (PLET), and dual 8-inch steel lazy wave riser (SLWR). The Stones lateral gas pipeline is comprised of a single 8-inch gas pipeline associated with PLET, in-line sled, and a single 8-inch SLWR.

(3) Flowline: a flexible or rigid pipe, laid on the seabed, which allows the transportation of oil/gas production or injection of fluids. Its length can vary from a few hundred meters to several kilometers.

(4) Riser: a pipe or assembly of pipes used to transfer produced fluids from the seabed to the surface facilities or to transfer injection fluids, control fluids or lift gas from the surface facilities and the seabed.

Technip is a world leader in project management, engineering and construction for the energy industry.

From the deepest Subsea oil & gas developments to the largest and most complex Offshore and Onshore infrastructures, our 38,000 people are constantly offering the best solutions and most innovative technologies to meet the world's energy challenges.

Present in 48 countries, Technip has state-of-the-art industrial assets on all continents and operates a fleet of specialized vessels for pipeline installation and subsea construction.