Houston, TX, September 21, 2011 – Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) has announced the delivery of an integral component to its expanded containment system, a new Aframax tanker. Named “Eagle Texas” in a recent ceremony in Takamatsu, Japan, the tanker will be operated by AET Tanker Holdings. The “Eagle Texas” will soon undergo extensive conversion and modification before taking up duties in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
“This tanker is critical to our expanded containment system, which will be operational next year,” said MWCC Chief Executive Officer Marty Massey. “With the interim and expanded containment systems, MWCC is able to achieve its mission to be continuously ready to respond to a deepwater well control incident in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.”
The “Eagle Texas” is one of two dedicated capture vessels that will serve as part of MWCC’s expanded containment system. Modular process equipment will be installed on the capture vessels and will connect to the riser assembly that directs the oil from the subsea components. The process equipment will separate the oil from the gas, safely store the oil and flare the gas. Oil will be offloaded to shuttle tankers and transported to shore.
The company’s expanded containment system is on track for delivery in 2012. It is being engineered for use in deepwater depths up to 10,000 feet with the capacity to process up to 100,000 barrels of liquid and handle up to 200 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.