The Cannonball Story
In 2001, BP Trinidad and Tobago undertook to construct the first offshore platform to be designed and built in Trinidad and Tobago “from scratch”.
At the core of the project was bpTT’s commitment to improve local content in the engineering, fabrication and construction of offshore platforms. The Cannonball Project pioneered the way for a new engineering and fabrication industry in Trinidad and Tobago.
The result was the formation of two new joint venture companies: TOFCO and Fluor Summit. TOFCO built the platform and manages the construction site at Labidco, La Brea and is a joint venture between Welfab of Trinidad and Tobago and Chet Morrison of the US. Fluor Summit was responsible for the design and is a joint venture between Fluor Corporation of the US and local company Summit Engineering.
The project was successfully completed on March 12th 2006, with first commercial gas from this facility. The platform represented the standard platform design for future developments in Trinidad, allowing for the continued reduction in development costs through standardization and the creation of a right sized, sustainable, fabrication capability in country. Cannonball delivered a significant step change in national content by executing the engineering, fabrication and assembly of both the jacket (800 tonne) and topsides (850 tonne) in Trinidad.
The team’s vision “Do it local, Define the future” focused the team on a new and innovative contracting strategy to increase the local content and capability for platform engineering and construction. As a result new sustainable platform engineering and construction industries have been successfully established in Trinidad and Tobago. These industries have made a positive impact on the national community in terms of building local capability among local contractors and operators. The major impact of this pioneering vision is the setup of the local fabrication site in the rural community of La Brea in south Trinidad, creating a new sustainable job opportunities and new technology training avenues.
Some of the main milestones achieved include;
- Establishment of Fluor / Summit Alliance (Engineering)
- Establishment of TOFCO (Fabrication)
- 850,000 man-hours with no recordable
- 65% Trinidadian management man-hours
- 49% Trinidadian engineering man-hours
- 40 Trinidadians trained in EPC disciplines
- 85% Trinidadian construction man-hours
- 73 Trinidadians welders trained
- Achieved the government’s “Made in Trinidad”
The engineering and construction industry for platform projects has existed as an offshore industry for the past 40 years of oil and gas production in Trinidad and Tobago. Platform projects have been managed, engineered and constructed outside of Trinidad, and shipped to Trinidad for installation. Cannonball pioneered a progressive step towards defining and organizing the bpTT and Trinidad and Tobago infrastructure necessary to make platform construction a local possibility. An innovative platform design increased the possibility of local build.
