The Thunder Horse South Expansion project, in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, has started up 11 months ahead of schedule, supermajor BP announced today (23 January).

The project is expected to boost production at the facility by an estimated 50,000 gross boe/d, further boosting output. BP achieved this with the installation of a new subsea production system, 2mi south of the existing Thunder Horse platform. The system is a collection point for wells connected to the Thunder Horse platform by two 11,000ft flowlines installed on the seabed in late 2016, BP said.

“Thunder Horse South Expansion – along with our recent approval of the US$9 billion Mad Dog Phase 2 platform – demonstrates that the US Gulf of Mexico remains a key part of our global portfolio today and for many years to come,” said BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley.

Dudley said that the project marks the beginning of several major startups BP expects to achieve before year’s end. “[This] is a major step toward our goal of adding 800,000 bbl of new production by 2020,” he added.

The expansion project was able to come in $150 million under budget (a 15% reduction) by using standardized equipment and technology, rather than relying on customized components, BP said. (Editor’s note: Standardization has been a big goal for the industry after the fall in oil price, and OE’s February issue will take a look at “Lean Oilfields,” including Apache’s FNT project in the UK North Sea.)

“The Thunder Horse South Expansion project, brought online ahead of schedule and under budget, proves that deepwater can be done in a cost-effective way, while keeping a relentless focus on safety,” says Richard Morrison, regional president of BP’s Gulf of Mexico business. “It also shows the effectiveness of our strategy in the Gulf, which is all about increasing production from within our existing asset base and large portfolio of undeveloped resources.”

BP has been working diligently to improve production at Thunder Horse, which came online in 2008. The supermajor started up a water injection project at Thunder Horse in May 2016, which the firm said would enable the recovery an additional 65 MMboe.

Thunder Horse was discovered in 1999 and sits in more than 6000ft of water. Thunder Horse has capacity for 250,000 gross bbl of oil and 200 MMcf/d gross of natural gas. BP said that the facility continued to operate during construction and installation of the new subsea production and pipeline system.

BP operates Thunder Horse with 75% working interest. Its partner in the field is ExxonMobil (25%).

Source: www.oedigital.com