{{Short description|Oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico}} thumb|Platform being towed out to sea '''Bullwinkle''' is a {{convert|1736|ft|m}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=23521 |title=Bullwinkle Platform, All Areas |publisher=SkyscraperPage.com |date= |accessdate=2022-05-02}}</ref> tall, pile-supported fixed steel oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Installed in 1988, the total weight of the platform is 77,000 tons, of which the steel jacket comprises 49,375 tons.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.offshore-technology.com/projects/manatee/#:~:text=BULLWINKLE%20PLATFORM,-The%20Bullwinkle%20platform&text=Heerema%20Marine%20Contractors%20was%20selected,top%20of%20the%20flare%20boom|title=Manatee Field, Gulf of Mexico - Offshore Technology | Oil and Gas News and Market Analysis}}</ref> At the time of its construction it was the third tallest freestanding structure ever built{{spaced ndash}}shorter than only the CN Tower and the Ostankino Tower{{spaced ndash}}and the tallest in the United States, being {{cvt|6|ft}} taller than the pinnacle of the Sears Tower. Of the total height, {{convert|1352|ft|m|sp=us}} are below the waterline. It is located in Green Canyon Block 65, approximately {{convert|160|mi|km}} southwest of New Orleans. Bullwinkle currently is operated by Talos Energy, LLC. The total field development construction cost was {{US$|500000000}} according to some sources.<ref>{{cite book|title=Deepwater|page=24|author=Leffler|author2=Pattrozi|author3=Sterling}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bJrdvjyJnN8 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/bJrdvjyJnN8 |archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live|title=PAPHA Events 1989 Bullwinkle TV production of construction, placement and operation|website=YouTube }}{{cbignore}}</ref>
The jacket, i.e. the mainly submerged part of the platform, was built by Gulf Marine Fabricators in 1985–1988 at the North Yard location in Ingleside, Texas, at the intersection of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel and the Intracoastal Waterway in Port Aransas, east of Corpus Christi.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fircroft.com/blogs/installing-the-bullwinkle-oil-platform-01401912432 |title=Installing the Bullwinkle Oil Platform |website=www.fircroft.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605223052/https://www.fircroft.com/blogs/installing-the-bullwinkle-oil-platform-01401912432 |archive-date=2020-06-05}} </ref> The platform was shipped using a barge and installed by Heerema Marine Contractors.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.offshore-technology.com/projects/manatee/#:~:text=BULLWINKLE%20PLATFORM,-The%20Bullwinkle%20platform&text=Heerema%20Marine%20Contractors%20was%20selected,top%20of%20the%20flare%20boom.|title = Manatee Field, Gulf of Mexico - Offshore Technology | Oil and Gas News and Market Analysis}}</ref> The jacket, which is some 1,400 feet tall, is the second tallest object ever to be moved to another position (relative to the surface of the Earth), after the Troll A platform.
The Bullwinkle platform is the third tallest freestanding structure built in water after the Petronius and Baldpate Compliant Towers, but it is the tallest of these that could be built on land as is without any modifications.
In 2010, Superior Energy Services took ownership of the platform and planned to decommission it at the end of its economic life.<ref>{{cite web|last1=February 2|first1=Tom Fowler on|last2=PM|first2=2010 at 1:05|date=2010-02-02|title=Bullwinkle's days are numbered (Boris and Natasha rejoice)|url=https://blog.chron.com/newswatchenergy/2010/02/bullwinkles-days-are-numbered-boris-and-natasha-rejoice/|access-date=2021-03-29|website=NewsWatch: Energy|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |title=Superior Energy Services and Shell Sign Bullwinkle Decommissioning Deal |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/superior-energy-services-and-shell-sign-bullwinkle-decommissioning-deal-83296997.html |access-date=2021-03-29 |website=www.prnewswire.com |language=en |publisher=Superior Energy Services}}</ref>
==See also== *List of tallest oil platforms *List of tallest freestanding steel structures *Offshore oil and gas in the US Gulf of Mexico *List of tallest freestanding structures
==External links== * [http://www.offshore-technology.com/projects/manatee/ Info on offshore-technology.com] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPAVVSysnoc Towing Largest Oil Rig in History], installation and construction video * {{SkyscraperPage|23521}}
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bullwinkle (Oil Platform)}} Category:Energy infrastructure completed in 1988 Category:Oil platforms off the United States Category:Petroleum industry in the Gulf of Mexico Category:Energy infrastructure in Louisiana Category:1988 establishments in Louisiana