BP plans $1.3bn expansion in Gulf of Mexico

BP said it was planning a $1.3bn expansion at the Atlantis field in the Gulf of Mexico, adding that it had identified an extra one billion barrels of oil at an existing field.

Recent breakthroughs in advanced seismic imaging and reservoir characterization revealed an extra 400m barrels at the Atlantis Field, BP said.

The expansion will include the construction of a new subsea production system from eight new wells that will be tied into the current platform, 150 miles south of New Orleans.

The same technology had also identified an extra one billion barrels of oil at the Thunder Horse field, 240 km to the southeast of New Orleans, where it is operating the Gulf of Mexico's biggest offshore oil production platform.

Just northeast of Thunder Horse, BP also announced new discoveries at fields near its Na Kika platform.

BP said it planned to develop reservoirs at its Manuel prospect, where Shell holds a 50% stake. Producers also found oil at the Nearly Headless Nick prospect near Na Kika, where BP has a 20.25% working interest.

“BP’s Gulf of Mexico business is key to our strategy of growing production of advantaged high-margin oil. We are building on our world-class position, upgrading the resources at our fields through technology, productivity and exploration success,” said Bernard Looney, BP’s Upstream chief executive.

“And 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, offering the potential to continue to create significant value through the middle of the next decade and beyond.”

Over the past five years, BP’s net production in the Gulf of Mexico has increased by more than 60% to more than 300,000 boe/d.