BP Announces Start of Thunder Horse Expansion

BP has announced  the commencement of its Thunder Horse Expansion Phase 2 in the Gulf of Mexico. This second phase of the project is expected to significantly increase output.

A total of eight wells are expected to be drilled during the project’s development. “The Phase 2 start-up is part of BP’s plans to grow its Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production to around 400,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day by the mid-2020s," according to a company's press release.

“This has been a pivotal year for our Gulf of Mexico business as we continue to start up new projects. Bringing high-margin, resilient barrels online in basins we know best is central to BP's strategy. Our team has consistently and safely delivered during a pandemic – and with over a million hours worked without a safety incident, this project is no exception. I could not be prouder of the team,” said Starlee Sykes, Senior Vice President for the Gulf of Mexico and Canada at BP.

In fact, according to the company's website, Thunder Horse, discovered in 1999, is one of the company’s largest and most profitable production and drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico region, located at about 240 km southeast of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is designed to process up to 250 thousand barrels of oil and 5.6 million cubic meters of natural gas per day. The expansion phase is located in the Mississippi Canyon Block 822, southeast of Thunder Horse. BP currently owns 75 percent of the property, with ExxonMobil owning the remaining 25 percent.

Ewan Drummond, Senior Vice President for Projects, Production, and Operations at BP commented that “this is another significant milestone for BP, completing the delivery of our planned major projects for 2021. I am extremely proud of the entire team and their commitment to the safe start-up of Thunder Horse South Expansion Phase 2. This project is a great example of the type of fast-payback, high-return tie-back opportunities we continue to deliver as we focus and high-grade our portfolio."

Furthermore, BP stated that Thunder Horse Expansion Phase 2 concludes a 2021 plan for five major project commencements from the company, started earlier this year with BP’s Matapal project in Trinidad and Tobago. Regarding the Gulf, BP operates an additional three platforms besides Thunder Horse: Atlantis, Mad Dog, and Na Kika. A fifth, Argos, is expected to come online in 2022.