Houston, October 19 - Neftegaz.RU. BP announced that it has started up the Thunder Horse Northwest Expansion project in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, 4 months ahead of schedule and 15 % under budget.
This is the 4rth Upstream major project to begin production for BP globally so far this year, following 7 that started up in 2017 and 6 in 2016.
BP expects that new projects beginning production between 2016 and 2021, part of its strategic focus on growing gas and advantaged oil production, will provide it with 900,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day (boe/d) of new production by 2021.
The new project is expected to boost production at Thunder Horse by an estimated 30,000 boe/d at its peak, taking gross output at one of the largest oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico to over 200,000 boe/d. Originally planned for start-up in early 2019, the project is the latest sign of BP’s continued momentum in the US offshore region.
Developed with partner ExxonMobil, the Thunder Horse platform sits in more than 6,000 feet of water and began production in June 2008. It has the capacity to handle 250,000 gross barrels of oil and 200 million gross cubic feet of natural gas per day.
In the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, BP operates 4 large production platforms – Thunder Horse, Atlantis, Mad Dog and Na Kika – and holds interests in four non-operated hubs – Mars, Olympus, Ursa and Great White.
Over the last 5 years, BP’s net average daily production in the Gulf of Mexico has increased from under 200,000 boe/d in 2013 to over 300,000 boe/d and is set to grow further with the addition of the Mad Dog Phase 2 platform in 2021 and other upcoming projects.
