BP approved an expansion at the Atlantis field in the US Gulf of Mexico (GOM). The $1.3-billion development comes after the company discovered an additional 400 million bbl of oil in place at the Atlantis field, the GOM’s third-largest oil field.
Atlantis Phase 3 will include the construction of a subsea production system from eight new wells that will be tied into the current platform, located 150 miles south of New Orleans. Scheduled to come on stream in 2020, the project is expected to boost production at the platform by an estimated 30,000 BOE/D gross at its peak. It will also access the eastern area of the field, where BP located the addition oil in place.
Following sanction, TechnipFMC announced that it had been awarded a "significant" (between $75 million and $250 million) integrated engineering, procurement, construction, and installation contract for Atlantis Phase 3. It will manufacture, deliver, and install subsea equipment, including subsea tree systems, manifolds, flowline, umbilicals, and subsea tree jumpers, pipeline end terminations, subsea distribution, and topside control equipment. The contract also includes provisional services for tooling and personnel required to install the hardware.
BP also announced its discovery of an additional 1 billion bbl of oil in place at the Thunder Horse field, and that two new discoveries (Manuel and Nearly Headless Nick) near the Na Kika production facility could provide further tieback development opportunities.
The Manuel discovery is located on Mississippi Canyon block 520, east of Na Kika. BP, which holds a 50% working interest in the discovery alongside Shell, is expected to develop the reservoirs via tieback to Na Kika. Nearly Headless Nick is located on the LLOG-operated Mississippi Canyon block 387 and is expected to tie back to the LLOG-operated Delta House facility. BP holds a 20.25% working interest in the discovery, partnering with LLOG, Kosmos Energy, and Ridgewood Energy.
“BP’s Gulf of Mexico business is key to our strategy of growing production of advantaged high-margin oil,” BP Upstream CEO Bernard Looney said in a statement. “These fields are still young—only 12% of the hydrocarbons in place across our gulf portfolio have been produced so far. We can see many opportunities for further development.”
The company said that future potential offshore developments in the GOM include Atlantis Phases 4 and 5, further developments at Thunder Horse, more Na Kika subsea tiebacks, and Mad Dog field extensions.