Baldpate is a 579.7 metres (1,902 ft) offshore compliant tower oil platform near the coast of Louisiana. It was the first freestanding complaint tower to be built following the Lena platform which was a guyed compliant tower. It is the second tallest structure built in water after the Petronius (oil platform). The Baldpate Platform was designed and built by Hudson Engineering (now J. Ray McDermott Engineering) in Houston, Texas, and installed by Heerema Marine Contractors.
The platform was built in multiple sections which were assembled together later when the structure arrived at its final location. The lowest section is a ridged jacket that weighs 8,700 tons and is 107 m (351 ft) in height. This section has a wider base 140 feet squared that reduces to 90 feet squared at its top. The main legs of the structure have a diameter of 12 feet at their widest with a steel thickness of 3.5 inches. At the corner of each side the structure is supported by steel piles which reach a depth of 430 feet.
The complaint tower section jacket section was fabricated by Aker Gulf Marine, weights a total of 20,200 tons and raises 402 m (1320 ft) in height. This section has a length and width of 90 feet across which remains constant from the bottom to the top of the frame. The main legs in this section have a diameter of 10.67 feet with a steel thickness of 3.3 inches. The total combined height of the jacket/truss tower section of Baldpate is 1,671 feet, 1,647 feet of which is under water. More details