Chevron has sanctioned its $1.6 billion Ballymore project in the deepwater US Gulf of Mexico (GOM), which is expected to add 75,000 B/D of crude oil equivalent at peak. The field will be developed via a three-well subsea tieback to the operator’s Blind Faith platform just three miles away.
“Chevron’s US Gulf of Mexico production is some of the lowest-carbon-intensity production in our portfolio at around 6 kg CO2 equivalent per barrel of oil equivalent and is a fraction of the global industry average,” said Steve Green, president of Chevron North America Exploration and Production. “Once complete, Ballymore is expected to add a reliable supply of US-produced energy to help meet global demand. The project is designed to lower development costs by using a subsea tieback approach, standardized equipment, and repeatable engineering solutions— leveraging existing operated infrastructure.”
Ballymore will be Chevron’s first development in the Norphlet trend. The field is located in Mississippi Canyon Block 607 in around 6,600 ft (2000 m) of water, about 160 miles (260 km) southeast of New Orleans, Louisiana. Potentially recoverable oil-equivalent resources are estimated at more than 150 million bbl.
Oil and natural gas production will be transported via existing infrastructure. Blind Faith is located in Mississippi Canyon Block 650. First oil from Ballymore is expected in 2025.
Chevron operates Ballymore with a 60% working interest. Co-owner TotalEnergies E&P holds the remaining 40% stake.
The initial Ballymore well, drilled in early 2018, reached total measured depth of 29,194 ft and encountered more than 670 ft net oil pay with excellent reservoir and fluid characteristics. A sidetrack was drilled to further assess the discovery. An appraisal well, drilled in Block 607 in early 2019, reached 28,370 ft and was temporarily abandoned.
In April 2019, Chevron awarded Worley a contract to provide modification services to the Blind Faith host in order to accommodate production from Ballymore. Worley provided topsides services and project management with its Intecsea subsidiary supporting the subsea portion of the project.
Blind Faith is a deep-draft semisubmersible floating production system that came on stream in late 2008 with a capacity to support 65,000 B/D of oil and 55 MMcf/d of natural gas.
