BP today announced that natural gas production from the Mango field, offshore Trinidad, began on the evening of November 17, 2007. The field, in the South East Galeota Block, was first discovered in 1971 and further appraised in 2000.
The Mango field is 35 miles south east of Galeota Point in water depths of some 235 feet (72 metres). BP Trinidad and Tobago (bpTT) holds a 100 per cent interest in the field.

The field has been developed using a single unmanned platform with a capacity to produce from nine wells. Gas is exported through a new subsea four-mile 26-inch diameter pipeline tied into the current Cannonball pipeline and then to the Cassia B gas processing hub.

Andy Inglis, BP's Chief Executive of Exploration & Production, said: "Start-up of the Mango field is another important step in building production momentum from our strong upstream portfolio."

Gas from Mango will supply Atlantic LNG's liquefaction plant for export as LNG to international markets, as well as the domestic market. During operations, the field is expected to add an incremental 750 million standard cubic feet a day of gas deliverability plus some associated condensate.

The Mango platform was the second to be built to the same standardized design as the Cannonball platform. Cannonball, installed offshore in 2005, was the first offshore platform to be designed in Trinidad. The 860 tonne Mango jacket and the 890 tonne topsides were built at the Trinidad Offshore Fabricators (TOFCO) yard in La Brea, south Trinidad. TOFCO is a joint venture between Chet Morrison Contractors of the US and Trinidadian company Weldfab. The platform was installed in February 2007. It was built simultaneously with the Cashima platform, which also followed the Cannonball template.
Robert Riley, Chairman and CEO, bpTT, said: "Working closely with our Trinidadian suppliers, the standardised approach we adopted in designing the Cannonball and Mango platforms has delivered significant efficiencies."

The Mango platform has high Trinidadian local content with some 25 per cent of its total engineering, procurement and construction value being spent in country and with T&T nationals being responsible for 65 per cent of the project management hours and 85 per cent of total fabrication hours.