The Hibernia platform reached its location on the Grand Banks off Newfoundland June 6 after 1 week in a nearby holding area waiting for suitable weather.
The 75-story platform left harbor at Bull Arm May 23 under tow by a flotilla of tugs and accompanied by support vessels.
At presstime, the platform was being grouted to the seabed and iron ore tankers were en route to the location with 400,000 metric tons of ore for a 30-day ballasting operation.
Drilling is scheduled to begin Aug. 15 in Hibernia field with first production slated for December.
Start-up of the 615 million-bbl oil field will be Canada's first full-scale commercial offshore production.
The project is a joint venture of Mobil Oil Canada Ltd., Chevron Canada Ltd., Petro-Canada Ltd., Murphy Oil, Norsk Hydro AS, and the federal government.
The Hibernia platform is shown in top photo ready for tow-out at the Bull Arm, Newf., deepwater construction site. The middle photo is a view of the Hibernia platform and the nine tugs on the eve of tow-out. The diving barge used to cut the mooring chains is visible on the left side of the platform. The bottom photo shows the Hibernia platform under tow deep in Trinity Bay. In the upper left corner of this photo, the Maersk Nascopie vessel can be seen towing an iceberg. Photos courtesy of Hibernia Management & Development Co.
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