As part of a team including BP and Worley Parsons personnel, William Jacob Management was tasked with completing a review of the drilling rig design and fabrication. The project involved over 30 William Jacob Management personnel from June, 2011 through July, 2012. William Jacob Management reviewed the design of all of the drilling systems to determine their adherence to BP specifications, industry standards and HSE requirements for operating in the arctic conditions on the Beaufort Sea. Originally the project was for construction of new drilling facilities placed on a man-made offshore drilling island. The project was initially estimated to cost more than $1 billion, and was to tap into a new 100-million-barrel reservoir. The project was anticipated to set standards for Arctic oilfield development while minimizing the onshore and offshore environmental footprint.

The Liberty field is located in shallow water (20 feet) inside the Beaufort Sea’s barrier islands. It was planned that the project would take advantage of existing infrastructure in the BP-operated Endicott oil field, which was producing oil since 1987. BP planned to reach Liberty’s oil reservoir, about six miles east of Endicott, using state-of-the-art, extended-reach wells. The wells were to be drilled from Endicott’s Satellite Drilling Island, which was expanded for drilling operations. Producing the oil through these long-reach wells would eliminate the need for a new drilling island and subsea oil pipeline. Initial production was expected in 2011, and by 2013 BP anticipated the Liberty field would yield about 40,000 barrels a day.