SLB’s OneSubsea joint venture has scooped an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to deliver a subsea production boosting system for the brownfield BP-operated deepwater Thunder Horse project in the US Gulf of Mexico.
The EPC award, announced by SLB OneSubsea on 8 June, follows BP’s sanctioning last month of the project together with co-owner ExxonMobil (25% working interest), BP America noted on its web page.
Contract terms obligate SLB OneSubsea to deliver the actual subsea boosting system, along with associated project management, engineering, manufacturing, and required testing.
The win builds on recent subsea boosting contracts with SLB OneSubsea for BP’s Kaskida and Tiber–Guadalupe projects which will employ the same booster systems at their separate hubs.
Because drawdown increases when the booster lowers wellhead pressure across existing wells in a field, flow rates rise by 20 to 200% and recoverable reserves increase, according to SLB OneSubsea.
BP America expects first oil in 2028 from the Thunder Horse booster which will add around 15,000 BOE/D of gross annual average production at peak that will expand the life of the mature field, which has been in production since 2008.
Production delivered by the booster is comparable to what would flow if up to two new wells were drilled, thus optimizing costs, BP said.
“Subsea boosting is an important enabler for extending production from existing assets,” said Mads Hjelmeland, CEO of SLB OneSubsea, which is a joint venture between SLB, Aker Solutions and Subsea7 headquartered in Oslo and Houston.
“Our standardized subsea solutions support faster deployment and improved efficiency, helping operators enhance production and recovery while optimizing overall field performance,” Hjelmeland said.
BP Americas announced its final investment decision on the Thunder Horse booster on 26 May in a post to its Facebook page.