Global oil and gas company BP has discovered two new oilfields in the US Gulf of Mexico (GoM) and has identified significant additional oil resources at the Thunder Horse deepwater field amounting to approximately 1 Gbl, which could create further development opportunities in the region.
Overall, BP plans to produce about 400,000 boe/d in the deepwater GoM by the middle of the 2020s, up from the current 300,000 boe/d. In 2009, BP's production exceeded 400,000 boe/d but the company was forced to downsize its output in the region following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster at the Macondo prospect.
BP has also made a final investment decision (FID) on Atlantis-3, a US$1.3bn expansion project at the Atlantis deepwater oil and gas field in the GoM. It will involve tying eight new production wells to the existing Atlantis platform, which currently has a production capacity of 200,000 bbl/d and 180 mcf/d of gas (5 mcm/d). This project will add around 38 kboe/d as of 2020. Other projects are expected to follow in the years to come, including in particular the development of the Thunder Horse and Mad Dog 2 projects.