BP Begins Oil Production at Argos Platform in Gulf of Mexico

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--BP plc (NYSE:BP) (London, England) recently started production at its $3 billion Argos floating production unit (FPU) in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GOM), which is part of its Mad Dog 2 project.

The Argos platform has a production capacity of up to 140,000 barrels per day (BBL/d) of oil and is BP's first new production facility in the Gulf of Mexico since 2008, the company said in a press release. Argos will increase the company's operating production capacity by an estimated 20%, the company added.

BP expects to ramp up Argos' production throughout 2023.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Oil & Gas Project Database can read detailed project reports on the FPU and the related drilling program.

Argos is part of BP's Mad Dog 2 project, which is estimated to total $9 billion of investment. The project has been in development since 2014.

"Argos is key to our strategy of increasing our Gulf of Mexico production to around 400,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by the middle of this decade," Ewan Drummond, senior vice president, projects, production and operations, said in a press release.

BP expects to invest an average of $2.3 billion in its oil and gas assets offshore Gulf of Mexico in 2023, and $7 billion through 2025, following $10 billion of investment since 2018. The company already operates four deepwater production platforms in the GOM: Atlantis (from which the Argos is modeled), Mad Dog, Na Kika and Thunder Horse. At the original Mad Dog site, the company is evaluating options for drilling two to four additional water injection wells at its South West location, and another two to four at its North West location. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the proposed South West and North West projects.

As BP focuses on production in the Gulf, the company has agreed to sell its 50% stake in one of its Canadian oil sands projects, the Sunrise development, to Cenovus Energy Incorporated (NYSE:CVE) (Calgary, Alberta).

But as part of BP's agreement to sell its Sunrise assets, the company agreed to buy Cenovus's 35% stake in another Canadian asset: the undeveloped Bay du Nord project offshore Newfoundland and Labrador. The project, which is majority-owned by Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) (Stavanger, Norway), involves drilling 40 wells to support a 200,000-BBL/d FPU. The project has received permitting approval but is still in its early stages of development, in which plenty of factors could alter, or cancel, the projected investment. Click here for the detailed project report.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here for a look at the reports for all of the projects discussed in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.

BP reported historic profits for 2022 amid a variety of favorable factors. For more information, see Industrial Info's February 8, 2023, article - Shareholders Remain Primary Beneficiaries of Historic Profits at Integrated Oil Supermajors.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).