BP has announced that it has started oil production at the Argos offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico.
In a statement posted on its website, the company said the move provides “more energy at a critical time” and strengthens BP’s position “as a leading deepwater producer in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.”
BP highlighted in the statement that Argos is the company’s fifth platform in the Gulf of Mexico and its first new production facility operated in the region since 2008. Argos has a gross production capacity of up to 140,000 barrels of oil per day and will increase BP’s crude volume. operated production capacity in the Gulf of Mexico by an estimated 20%, according to the company, which said it expects to “safely and systematically increase production from Argos through 2023.”
In the statement, BP described Argos as its most advanced digital platform operating in the Gulf of Mexico and as the “centerpiece” of its Mad Dog Phase 2 project, which it noted extends the life of the “super-giant” oil field discovered in 1998. Argos operates in 4,500 feet of water about 190 miles south of New Orleans and will support 250 permanent jobs, according to BP.
“Commissioning Argos is a fantastic achievement that helps deliver our integrated energy strategy: investing in the current energy system while at the same time investing in the energy transition,” said BP chief executive Bernard Looney, in a company statement.
“As BP’s most digital facility worldwide, applying our latest technologies, Argos will strengthen our key position in the Gulf of Mexico for years to come,” he added.
Starlee Sykes, BP’s senior vice president for the Gulf of Mexico and Canada, said: “The safe commissioning of the Argos platform is an incredible milestone for BP and a proud moment for our team who delivered the project with an impeccable safety record.”
“Producing some of BP’s lowest operating emissions and highest value barrels, our Gulf of Mexico business plays an important role in supplying the energy the world needs. I am grateful to everyone who has worked at Argos over the years, from discovery to launch,” added Sykes.
David Lawler, chairman and president of BP America, said Argos demonstrates BP’s continued commitment to investing in the US.
“We are one of the largest energy producers in the country and we are adding more resistant hydrocarbons at a critical time,” he said.
Also commenting on Argos, Ewan Drummond, the company’s senior vice president of Projects, Production and Operations, said “projects like Argos don’t just happen.”
“They bring years of careful planning, execution excellence and brilliant teamwork. Argos is key to our strategy to increase our Gulf of Mexico production to around 400,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in middle of this decade,” he added.
BP’s Mad Dog asset partner Woodside confirmed the commissioning of the Mad Dog Phase 2 project in a statement published on its website, describing the development as a “significant addition” to Woodside’s position in the Gulf of Mexico
In the statement, Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill said the start-up of production from Mad Dog Phase 2 demonstrates the continued value Woodside’s merger with BHP’s oil business provides in 2022.
“Mad Dog is one of several low-cost producing assets for Woodside in the region with significant expansion potential and close proximity to attractive infrastructure and markets,” O’Neill said in a company statement.
“This makes the Gulf of Mexico a core component of Woodside’s global portfolio and a key part of our strategy to thrive through the energy transition,” added O’Neill.
BP is the operator of Mad Dog with a 60.5 percent working interest. Its partners in the asset include Woodside Energy, which has a 23.9% stake, and Union Oil Company of California, which is a subsidiary of Chevron USA Inc and has a 15.6% stake.
BP production start-ups
The last production start-up announced on BP’s website occurred on November 29, 2022, when BP Trinidad and Tobago LLC (bpTT) confirmed that its Cassia C development had delivered first gas.
Cassia C is bpTT’s first offshore compression platform and its largest offshore facility, a statement posted on BP’s website at the time noted, adding that the asset will allow bpTT to access and produce resources from low pressure gas from the Gran Cassia area.
The platform is bpTT’s 16th offshore facility and is connected to the existing Cassia hub, which is located approximately 35 miles off the southeast coast of Trinidad, BP said in the statement. Cassia C is expected to produce, at maximum, about 200-300 million standard cubic feet per day of gas, according to BP.
“The first gas from Cassia C is an important milestone for BP in Trinidad and Tobago,” bpTT president David Campbell said in a company statement at the time.
“This first offshore compression facility will allow us to unlock new resources and bring much-needed gas to market. I am immensely proud of the teams that have been working hard to bring this facility online,” he added.
Commenting on this launch in November last year, Drummond said: “I am proud of our achievement in delivering this project while keeping our people safe during a global pandemic.”
“Cassia C is a great example of BP’s resilient hydrocarbons strategy in action – providing the energy the world needs now and helping us invest in the energy transition. I’d like to thank our team for their commitment in the safe execution of this project,” he added.
In February 2022, BP announced the commissioning of the Herschel expansion project in the Gulf of Mexico.
In a company statement at the time, this development was described as part of BP’s strategy to invest in focused and resilient hydrocarbons. Phase 1 of the Herschel expansion project includes the development of a new subsea production system and the first of up to three wells tied to the Na Kika platform, BP said in the statement. At its peak, this first well is expected to increase the platform’s annual gross production by about 10,600 barrels of oil equivalent per day, according to BP.
“BP continues to grow its position in the Gulf of Mexico by bringing high-quality projects online,” Sykes said in a February 2022 company statement.
“Like other recent startups in the Gulf of Mexico, with Herschel we are tying into existing infrastructure to produce some of the most efficient barrels in the world. Focusing our hydrocarbon business on the highest quality resources like these is at the central to BP’s strategy,” Sykes added.
Commenting on Herschel’s launch, Drummond said in a statement at the time: “Herschel is a great example of the type of fast-recovery, high-performance opportunities we continue to offer as we focus and expand our hydrocarbon . wallet”.
“I would like to thank the team for their commitment to the safe and speedy execution of this project,” he added.
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