Chevron: Tahiti

Chemical Systems Engineering

Asset Details:

Tahiti is a Chevron spar development in the Gulf of Mexico that is due to produce first oil in 2008. The spar will be located in Green Canyon Block 640 and will be moored in a water depth of approximately 4000ft. The field will initially produce through two subsea tie-backs to the host facility and is designed to support waterflood injection operations.

Project Details:
GATE, LLC provided Chemical Systems Engineering (CSE) support through the FEED process and will continue this through the construction and commissioning phase. To date this has included the following activities:

• Management of chemical vendor technical qualification and technical evaluation.
• Oversight of chemical vendor testing and chemical performance evaluation.
• Support of chemical vendor commercial evaluation.
• Development of the umbilical commissioning strategy for the facility.

The objective of the CSE role is to develop, manage and provide a focal point for the provision of a comprehensive chemical treating/engineering strategy that:

• Achieves the functional specifications through proper chemical selection and complies with the design intent and flow assurance strategy.
• Ensures the system hardware, fluids, and chemicals are compatible; this includes produced fluids, injection chemicals, and both hard and soft materials.
• Is clearly defined and transferred across project interfaces (subsea, topsides, operations, etc.).
• Chemicals meet the HSE strategy of the Overseeing Authorities and Chevron.
• Hardware requirements are clearly stated and are included in the design document.
• Transient events, such as well/acid unloading and commissioning activities, are adequately evaluated and planned for.