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January 2008

TDI-Brooks Conducts Geotechnical Coring including Jumbo Piston Coring for Gulf of Mexico Developments

In September, TDI-Brooks undertook a geotechnical site investigation in two development areas of the southern Green Canyon lease area. The field acquisition portion of this study was conducted in September and October using the R/V BROOKS McCALL. Most of the cores were acquired in and around Green Canyon Block 822. The water depth at these locations ranges from ~3,500 to 6,100 ft.

The primary objective of the geotechnical field acquisition program was to gather ground-truthed core data to enhance understanding of the geologic conditions and processes that could impact development in the Southern Green Canyon area. The program aided in quantifying geologic conditions such as slope stability, tectonic activity, and the sedimentation history, through age dating and testing of the geotechnical properties. The field program considered each core location and defined the objectives, priorities, geologic conditions, and appropriate sampling methods.

TDI-Brooks conducted the field collections with the R/V BROOKS McCALL which is outfitted for regular, box and Jumbo Piston (JPC) coring services. TDI-Brooks has a field and crew of over twenty people onboard the vessel for the project cruise legs. Figure 1 shows the recovery of the JPC on the stern of the vessel. The JPC can be configured with variable weight up to 8,000-lbs and core length up to 64-ft (~19-meters). The JPC takes 4-inch diameter cores. Over thirty (30) JPCs were acquired for this study making it the largest JPC project that TDI-Brooks has yet conducted on our coring vessels.

Figure 1. Still photographs taken of the recovery of the Jumbo Piston Corer on the stern of the R/V BROOKS McCALL.

In addition to Jumbo Piston cores, conventional piston cores were acquired (Figure 2) along with 50-cm x 50-cm box. All cores were positioned by USBL beacons to within a few meters of their target locations.

Figure 2. Still photographs taken of the recovery and launch of the regular 6-m, 3-inch diameter piston corer on the starboard of the R/V BROOKS McCALL.

Field and laboratory tests included an array of index and advanced geotechnical and sedimentological measurements. The program was conducted successfully without any HSE incidents.

Additional details on the R/V BROOKS McCALL or TDI-Brooks Int'l Inc. can be found at www.tdi-bi.com.