Natural gas production from the Independence Hub was interrupted Tuesday to conduct routine maintenance over the next couple of days on the Gulf of Mexico facility, according to the majority owner of the hub.

As part of the maintenance, monoethylene glycol will be injected into the flow lines to prevent icing of the lines that bring gas up to the hub for processing, said Rick Rainey, a spokesman for Enterprise Products Partners LP, which owns 80% of the production platform. Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc. owns the remaining 20% interest.

The hub, which began operating in late July, has been producing 850 MMcf/d from 15 wells, Rainey noted. It hopes to be “at or near” 1 Bcf/d by the end of the year, he said.

Located in 8,000 feet of water on Mississippi Canyon Block 920, approximately 123 miles southeast of Biloxi, MS, the Independence Hub is the deepest-water production platform ever installed and also is the world’s largest offshore gas processing facility. Installation was completed earlier this year (see Daily GPI, March 9).

The hub is a 105-foot, deep-draft semisubmersible platform with a two-level production deck. The gas processed through the hub when operating at full capacity represents an increase of more than 10% in supplies from the Gulf of Mexico. The platform is operated by Anadarko Petroleum Corp. Companies producing natural gas from the platform include Anadarko, Statoil Hydro, Devon Louisiana Corp. and Italy’s Eni Spa.

Enterprise also owns and operates the Independence Trail pipeline, which connects the hub platform to onshore markets via an interconnect with Tennessee Gas Pipeline at Enterprise’s West Delta Block 68 shallow-water manifold platform. The 24-inch diameter pipeline is approximately 134 miles long and has the capacity to transport up to 1 Bcf/d.

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