Atlantis PQ

History
Name	Atlantis
Owner	BP
Operator	BP (56%) BHP (44%)
Port of registry	United States
Builder	Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Okpo, South Korea
Laid down	21 June 2004
Launched	17 August 2007
Acquired	17 August 2007
Maiden voyage	August 2006
In service	October 2007
Identification	ABS class no: 07113220 Call sign: WPYW299 IMO number: 9265768
Status	Operational at 27.195278°N 90.026944°W / 27.195278; -90.026944
Notes
General characteristics
Class and type	ABS: A1, floating offshore installation
Tonnage	35,663 GT 88,826 DWT
Length	129.07 m (423.5 ft)
Beam	116.1 m (381 ft)
Draught	26 m (85 ft)
Depth	52 m (171 ft)
Capacity	Diesel oil: 48.3 m3 (1,710 cu ft) Freshwater: 12.6 m3 (440 cu ft) Fuel oil: 2,046.2 m3 (72,260 cu ft) Ballast tank: 38,219 m3 (1,349,700 cu ft) Other: 377.9 m3 (13,350 cu ft)
Crew	60 berths
Notes

Atlantis PQ is a BP and BHP joint venture semi-submersible oil platform on permanent location over the Green Canyon Atlantis Oil Field in deepwater Gulf of Mexico, 190 mi (310 km) south of New Orleans. The "PQ" identifies the platform as being a production facility with crew quarters.

The vessel's hull was designed by GVA and built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in Okpo, South Korea. Its topsides modules were built in Morgan City, Louisiana with hull integration in Ingleside, Texas.

Operating in depths of more than 2,100 metres (6,900 ft), Atlantis was the deepest moored semi-submersible platform in the world when it was installed.

Food & Water Watch lawsuit

As a result of the 2010 explosion of the semi-submersible Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and the subsequent oil spill, informants within BP came forward with allegations that safety practices at Atlantis PQ were flawed. Specifically, allegations have been laid against the plans and specs used in its construction, maintenance, and operation. Kenneth Abbott, a former BP contractor, reported that up to 89 percent of the engineering plans used to build and operate the installations were never authenticated by even BP engineers for safety and stability, and that over 95 percent of the plans for the underwater welds were never verified. Food & Water Watch, a US-based consumer interest group, filed a complaint with the US district court requesting an injunction to stop production on Atlantis PQ until these matters have been investigated.

In August 2014, the case against BP Atlantis was dismissed by a U.S. circuit court. U.S. District Judge Lynn N. Hughes stated "BP never misrepresented -- much less knowingly distorted what it was doing,", finding that the case was ultimately about "paperwork wrinkles" instead of engineering shortcuts, adding [Abbott and the environmentalists] "have not blown a whistle," he said. "They have blown their own horn."

See also

• Offshore oil and gas in the US Gulf of Mexico
• Oil fields operated by BP

Further reading

• "BP Says Atlantis Platform Sets Sail in the Gulf of Mexico". Rigzone. August 9, 2006. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
• "Atlantis Platform, Gulf of Mexico, USA". Offshore Technology. 2010. Archived from the original on 23 May 2010. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
• "Atlantis". BP plc. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-11-01. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
• "Atlantis: Mastering the Deep". BP plc. 3 January 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-11-07. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
• "The Push Into the Deepwater Gulf". BP plc. 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-03-09. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
• "BP Commissions Atlantis Platform, Begins Oil and Gas Production". BP plc. 18 December 2007. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
• "GVA27000 Atlantis - Semi-submersible production and quarter unit". GVA. Archived from the original on 2010-08-11. Retrieved 16 May 2010.

External links

• BP Atlantis PQ diagram and images at FMC Technologies