BP Starts Up Argos Extension Project in Gulf of America

BP plc said it has started up the Argos Southwest Extension project, the first in a series of new projects that the company is planning in the Gulf of America until the end of the decade.

The project adds 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) of gross peak annualized average production at the existing Argos platform, the company said in a news release.

The Argos Southwest Extension project will add three wells and include a new drill center roughly five miles southwest of Argos. The subsea tieback, which connects new wells to existing offshore production facilities through pipelines, will extend the footprint of the Mad Dog field discovered in 1998, according to the release.

BP said it delivered the Argos Southwest Extension project in about 25 months, seven months ahead of schedule, by implementing concurrent workstreams, optimizing project management, and engaging in early procurement.

Argos, which began production in 2023, is BP’s fifth operated production platform in the Gulf of America with a gross production capacity of up to 140,000 barrels of oil per day, the company said. The project operates in 4,500 feet of water about 190 miles south of New Orleans.

“The Argos expansion underpins our commitment to investing in America, growing our US offshore energy production safely and efficiently,” Andy Krieger, BP’s senior vice president for the Gulf of America and Canada, said. “This project also kicks off a period of significant growth for BP in the Gulf of America, which will continue to play a critical role in delivering secure and reliable energy the world needs today and tomorrow”.

“Argos’ expansion project demonstrates how BP can swiftly bring new barrels to market safely and efficiently,” Gordon Birrell, BP’s executive vice president of production and operations, said. “Our ability to move from resource discovery to first oil at record pace underscores our relentless pursuit to grow shareholder value”.

BP is the operator of Argos with a 60.5 percent working interest. Woodside Energy owns a 23.9 percent working interest and Union Oil Company of California, an affiliate of Chevron U.S.A. Inc., owns 15.6 percent.

The Argos Southwest Extension is one of 10 major project startups that BP aims to deliver globally by 2027, as part of its strategy to grow its upstream business and long-term shareholder value, the company said. The project is also the first of three major expansions and new build projects in the deepwater Gulf of America that will enable BP to boost its capacity to produce around 400,000 boepd from the U.S. offshore region by the end of the decade, the company added.

BP said that it plans to deliver two additional expansion projects in the Gulf of America by 2027. The Atlantis Drill Center 1 expansion will add around 15,000 boepd of gross peak production and is expected to begin operations in 2026. The Atlantis Major Facility expansion, which will further increase production from the Atlantis field using existing infrastructure, is expected to start operations in 2027.

Further, BP said it is investing in Kaskida, its sixth platform in the Gulf of America that represents its first step toward unlocking 10 billion barrels of discovered resources in the Paleogene, an oil-rich geological area about 250 miles southwest of New Orleans. Kaskida, which will have a production capacity of 80,000 barrels per day, is expected to start operations in 2029, according to the release.

BP said it is also working toward reaching a final investment decision this year on its Tiber-Guadalupe project in the Keathley Canyon area of the Gulf of America.

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