London-based BPannounced on 29 September that it will build a new semisubmersible platform to develop its Tiber-Guadalupe project in the Gulf of America. The $5-billion final investment decision follows the sanctioning of the Kaskida project in July 2024.
Like Kaskida, the 100% BP-owned Tiber-Guadalupe development will deploy 20,000-psi (20K) equipment to produce from the Paleogene (Lower Tertiary) formations.
Tiber-Guadalupe will become BP’s seventh operated hub in the Gulf, with a new floating production platform designed to produce 80,000 B/D of crude oil. The project includes six wells in the Tiber field and a two-well tieback from the Guadalupe field. First production from the fields, located about 300 miles southwest of New Orleans, Louisiana, is expected in 2030.
The Tiber and Guadalupe fields hold an estimated 350 million BOE of recoverable resources in the initial phase, with potential for additional wells in later phases.
The project is one of up to 10 major developments BP expects to start globally between 2028 and 2030. Together with Kaskida, which is expected to achieve first oil in 2029, BP plans to invest around $10 billion to deliver its Gulf Paleogene portfolio.
“Our decision to move forward on the Tiber-Guadalupe project is a testament to our commitment to continue investing in the Gulf of America and expand our energy production from one of the premier basins in the world,” Andy Krieger, BP’s senior vice president, Gulf of America and Canada, said in the announcement. “Along with its sister project Kaskida, Tiber-Guadalupe will play a critical role in BP’s focus on delivering secure and reliable energy the world needs today and tomorrow.”
Along with its five existing platforms in the region, Tiber-Guadalupe and Kaskida are expected to boost BP’s offshore capacity to more than 400,000 BOE/D by 2030. The company’s broader target is to grow US offshore and onshore output to more than 1 million BOE/D by the same year.
Development costs for Tiber are projected to be about $3/bbl lower than Kaskida, thanks to what BP said is an 85% design overlap with the earlier project.
“Tiber-Guadalupe represents a significant step forward in our efforts to unlock the potential of the Paleogene in the Gulf of America, building on our decades of experience in the region,” Gordon Birrell, BP’s executive vice president of production and operations, said in a statement. “Together with our Kaskida project in the Paleogene, we expect Tiber-Guadalupe will be another world-class development.”
BP also recently started up a large expansion project at its Argos platform and is planning two additional expansion projects at the Atlantis platform over the next 2 years.