Dominion E&P Announces Triton/Goldfinger Production

Dominion Exploration and Production, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dominion, has begun production from the Triton and Goldfinger subsea wells, located 140 miles southeast of New Orleans on Mississippi Canyon Blocks 771, 772 and 728 in the Gulf of Mexico.

“These new additions are excellent examples of the returning strength of Gulf of Mexico operations,” said Duane Radtke, president and chief executive officer. “These wells will add significant volumes to our deepwater production.”

Triton/Goldfinger consists of three subsea wells connected to the Devils Tower floating production system via insulated six-inch by ten-inch diameter flowlines. Devils Tower, the world’s deepest dry-tree spar, is owned by Williams and operated by Dominion E&P in 5,610 feet of water on Mississippi Canyon Block 773.

The six-mile tieback was accomplished with a minimal 3.5 days of production shut-in time on the Devils Tower spar, and the wells were ready for commissioning a few days before Hurricane Katrina struck in late August. Since then, sustained production from Devils Tower has been limited by damage to downstream infrastructure owned by other companies.

Now that more downstream infrastructure has become available, the subsea wells have been brought on line, said Kevin Guilbeau, senior vice president and general manager.

“This was a very challenging project, and we are proud of the continued technical and operational accomplishments of our deepwater team,” Guilbeau said. “The Triton/Goldfinger tiebacks are an important next step for Dominion E&P in deep water. Subsea wells like these will become a larger part of our Gulf of Mexico activity over the next several years.”

Dominion E&P owns a 75 percent working interest in Devils Tower, including the Triton and Goldfinger tiebacks. Pioneer Natural Resources Company owns the remaining 25 percent.